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OF  CALIFORNIA 

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PRESENTED  BY 

Mrs.    MacKinley   Helm 


roJti 


m^ 


THE    EMPRESS    EUGENIE 
AND    HER    CIRCLE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/empresseugniehOObart 


THE 

EMPRESS    EUGENIE 
AND    HER    CIRCLE 


fJ;J(s-UC 


BY 

Dr.     E.     BARTHEZ 

PHYSICIAN   TO   THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL 


TRANSLATED    BY    BERNARD    MIALL. 
WITH    31    ILLUSTRATIONS 


BRENT  ANO'S 
NEW   YORK 

i9'3 


{All  rights  reserved.) 


CONTENTS 


I.     Letter  of  7  July,  1856  (Paris)  : 

Dr.  Barthez  appointed  physician-in-ordinary  to  the 

Prince  Imperial .... 
Why  required  .... 

A  careful  father      .... 

II.     Letter  of  8  July,  1856  (Paris) : 

Appearance  and  manner  of  the  Empress  . 
The  Prince  and  suite 

Saint-Cloud  .... 

Good  advice  .... 

III.  Letter  of  9  July,  1856  (Paris)  : 

The  Nourrice  .... 

IV.  Letter  of  11  July,  1856  (Paris) : 

Flattery  and  its  results 

V.     Letter  of  14  July,  1856  (Paris) : 
Childish  ailments  and  diet 

VI.     Letter  of  23  July,  1856  (Paris) : 

A  masterful  nurse  .... 

The  Prince's  toilet 

Two  difficult  patients 

The  toilet    ..... 

VII.     Letter  of  11  August,  1856  (Paris) : 
The  proposed  journey  :  the  Emperor 
Nervousness  respecting  epidemics  . 

VIII.     Letter  of  21  August,  1856  (Biarritz)  : 

A  hasty  summons  .... 
A  luxurious  train  .... 
The  journey  .... 

IX.     Letter  of  22-27  August,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
The  villa  and  surroundings 
The  Doctor's  amusements  . 

X.     Letter  of  23  August,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
His  Majesty  upon  American  dentists 


ii-iS 
12 
14 

16 
17 
18 
21 


23 

26 

28 

29-31 

30-1 

34-9 


40-1 
42 


44-5 

46-7 

47-56 

57-61 
62-7 


69-70 

5 


Contents 


XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 
XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 
XX, 

XXI. 

XXII. 
XXIII. 
6 


Letter  of  8  September,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
An  erratic  driver  .... 

The  Empress's  charities .... 

Letter  of  5-12  September,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
A  pen-portrait  of  Napoleon  III. 
An  embarrassing  experiment 
Evening  amusements       .... 
The  Emperor's  tastes       .... 

Letter  of  19  September,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
Bulls  and  bullfights         .... 

Letter  of  22  September,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
Drawbacks  ..... 

Letter  of  22-26  September,  1856  (Biarritz): 
The  Emperor      ..... 
Character  and  appearance  of  the  Empress 
The  crinoline  or  "  cage  "... 
Character  and  amusements 

Letter  of  27  September,  1856  (Biarritz)  : 

Another  bullfight  .... 

Letter  of  30  September,  1856  (Biarritz) : 
A  destructive  tempest     .... 
A  tender  heart  and  a  lucky  sheep 
Doctors  V.  magnetism      .... 

Letter  of  22  November,  1856  (Paris) : 
The  Prince  unwell  .... 

Difficulties  of  a  Court  physician 

Letter  of  27  August,  1857  (Biarritz) : 
The  doctor  as  Court  poet 

Letter  of  31  August,  1857  (Biarritz) : 
A  Sunday  bullfight  .  .  .  . 

Letter  of  5  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 
Life  at  Court       ..... 
Mr.  Home  the  medium 
A  siance  ..... 

Letter  of  14  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 
The  human  comedy        .... 
An  excursion  to  Grammont 

Letter  of  18  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 
A  bad  cold  ..... 

Portrait  of  a  pretty  woman 


72 
75-6 

78-86 
86-7 

89-90 
90-1 


93-5 
96-7 


99-102 

102-S 

105-19 


123-5 
126 
127 

128 
129-30 

131 

132-3 

133-6 

137-9 

139-42 


144-5 
146-8 


149 

'51-3 


Contents 


XXIV.     Letter  of  19  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 

A  little  clique               ....  155-6 

Another  portrait         ....  157-8 

XXV.     Letter  of  24  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 

A  dance,  and  a  dancer            .            .            .  1 60-1 

XXVL     Letter  of  24  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 

A  telegraphic  muddle              .            .            .  162-3 

XXVIL     Letter  of  25  September,  1857  (Biarritz) : 

Mr.  Home  detected     .             .             •             .  164 
He  takes  to  his  bed                  .             .             .165 

But  concludes  not  to  die         .            .            •  166 

XXVIIL     Letter  of  9  September,  1858  (Biarritz)  : 

Killing  time     .....  168-70 

M.  Mocquard's  verses              .             .             •  170-1 

XXIX.     Letter  of  14  September,  1858  (Biarritz) : 

A  picnic  ......  173-4 

XXX.     Letter  of  22  September,  1858  (Biarritz) : 

A  visit  to  M.  Michel,  the  "  smuggler  king  "  .  176-80 

An  Empress  at  play     .             .             .             .  1 81 

Fontarabia       .....  183-6 

Verses  on  the  Pelicati              .             .             •  1 86-9 1 

XXXI.     Letter  of  29  September,  1858  (Biarritz) : 

Excursion  to  San  Sebastien     .            .  192 

Zumaya             .....  194 

An  odd  figure  :  Napoleon  driving      .            .  195-6 

Loyola             .....  196-7 

XXXII.     Letter  of  20  August,  1859  : 

The  Prince  is  fatigued             .            .            .  I99 

And  is  sent  to  Biarritz            .            -            .  200 

XXXIII.  Letter  of  21  August,  1859  (Biarritz)  : 

Fried  pork      .....  202 

XXXIV.  Letter  of  9  September,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

A  jealous  child            .            .            .            .  204-5 

But  generous  .....  206-7 

XXXV.     Letter  of  1 7  September,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

The  grand  inonde  favours  Biarritz       .  209 

XXXVI.     Letter  of  20  September,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

Cap  Breton      .....  211-12 

7 


Contents 

PAGE 

XXXVII.     Letter  of  2 1  September,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

A  walk  with  the  Emperor  .  .  .     214-15 

XXXVIII.     Letter  of  24  September,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

A  difficult  landing  .  .  .  .216-19 

XXXIX.     Letter  of  2  October,  1859  (Biarritz)  : 

Princess  Metternich  .  .  .      220-1 

The  doctor  is  home-sick      .  .  .  222 

XL.     Letter  of  9  October,  1859  (Biarritz) : 

The  Emperor's  valet  .  .       223-4 

XLI.     Letter  of  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

The  Empress  as  conversationalist   .  .       225-6 

XLII.     Letter  of  10  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

A  brilliant  conversation       .  .  .  227 

XLIII.     Letter  of  13  September,  1863  (Biarritz): 

A  pleasant  circle     ....       228-9 

XLI V.     Letter  of  2  2  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

A  talk  about  colours  .  .  .  230 

XLV.     Letter  of  24  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

Another  portrait  of  the  Emperor    .  .       231-4 

XLVI.     Letter  of  24  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

Polish  affairs  ....       235-6 

A  wilful  patient       ....      237-9 

XLVII.     Letter  of  29  September,  1863  (Biarritz) : 

The  Emperor's  good  works  .  .      240-1 

A  good  man  ....       241-3 

XLVIII.     Letter  of  1 1  September,  1865  (Biarritz) : 

The  Spanish  Court  expected  .  .       244-5 

XLIX.     Letter  of  1 2  September,  1865  (Biarritz) : 
The  Queen  of  Spain 
Marshal  O'Donnell 

L.     Letter  of  i  October,  1865  (Biarritz): 

The  Villa  Eugenie      .  .  .        • 

LI.     Letter  of  9  October,  1865  (Biarritz) : 

Bismarck      .  .  .  .  • 

A  practical  joke       .... 

Letter  on  the  death   of   the   Prince 
Imperial    .....        255 


246 
247 


249-51 


252 
252-4 


Index 


257 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE    EMPRESS    AND    THE     LADIES    OF     HER     COURT 

Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

DR.   CONNEAU  .  .  .  .12 

l8 
20 
26 
30 
56 
58 

66 

74 
80 
98 
100 
9 


SAINT-CLOUD   IN   THE    *' FIFTIES   ' 

DR.   CORVISART 

THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL 

CRADLE   OF   THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL 

VIEW   OF   BIARRITZ   AND   THE  VILLA   EUGENIE 

THE   VILLA   EUGENIE   IN    1 856 

DR.    BARTHEZ 

THE   EMPRESS   AT   BIARRITZ   . 

THE    EMPEROR    NAPOLEON    III. 

THE   EMPEROR   NAPOLEON    III. 

THE   EMPRESS   EUGENIE 


Illustrations 


FACING  PAGE 

PRINCE   NAPOLEON    AND   THE   PRINCESS   CLOTILDE    .  I45 

J.    F.   C.    MOCgUARD     .                 .                 .                .                 .  I70 

NEY,    PRINCE   DE   LA    MOSKOWA             .                .                .  182 

VILLA     INHABITED     BY    THE     PRINCE    IMPERIAL    AT 

BAGNERES   DE   LUCHON     .                .       "         .                .  I98 

THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL             ....  200 

DRAWING    BY   THE    PRINCE   IMPERIAL,    1862                 .  2o6 

ACHILLE   FOULD           .....  217 

THE      EMPRESS      PRESIDING      AT      A      COUNCIL      OF 

MINISTERS               .....  226 

SIR   ANTHONY    PANIZZl                ....  229 

PROSPER   MERIMEE     .....  23O 

COUNTESS   DE    MONTIJO             ....  232 

THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL             ....  234 

THE   EMPRESS    EUGENIE           ....  238 

THE   EMPEROR   AND   THE    PRINCE    IMPERIAL                 .  24O 

ISABELLA   II.,    QUEEN    OF   SPAIN           .                 .                 .  244 

MARSHAL   o'DONNELL,    DUKE   OF    TETUAN       .                 .  246 

PRINCE   BISMARCK       .....  252 

DR.   BARTHEZ                 .....  254 
10 


The  Empress  Eugenie  and 
her  Circle 

I 

7  July,  1856 

I  HAD  abandoned  the  idea  of  obtaining  the 
eminent  post  of  physician  to  the  Prince 
Imperial,  and  I  was,  as  you  know,  consider- 
ably consoled  when  I  received  a  visit,  on 
the  2nd  of  this  month,  from  Corvisart,  who 
came  to  inform  me,  on  M.  Conneau's  ' 
behalf,  that  I  could  be  nominated  for  the 
post  provided  I  would  consent  to  travel  with 
the  Prince.  On  my  replying  in  the  affirma- 
tive, it  was  arranged  that  I  should  meet 
M.  Conneau  on  the  following  day,  in  order 
to  discuss  matters  of  business. 

'  Chief  physician  to  the  Emperor. 

I  I 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Here  is  a  summary  of  the  details  which 
my  two  colleagues  gave  me  : — 

The  Emperor,  having  to  leave  for  Plom- 
bieres,  entrusted  M.  Conneau  with  the  care 
of  the  health  of  the  Prince  Imperial  during 
his  absence,  and  M.  Conneau  was  anxious, 
that  being  so,  to  call  in  a  suitable  physician. 
He  explained  to  the  Emperor  that  while  His 
Majesty  was  on  the  spot  he  would  call  in  the 
doctor  chosen  by  him  ;  but  in  the  Emperor's 
absence  he  could  not  accept  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  Prince's  welfare  unless  he  was 
supported  by  a  colleague  in  whom  he  had 
confidence. 

This  was  agreed  to  by  His  Majesty,  but 
it  was  just  then  arranged  that  the  Empress 
was  to  go  to  Biarritz  for  her  health,  so  that 
the  three  members  of  the  Imperial  family 
would  all  be  widely  separated.  The 
Empress  could  not  make  up  her  mind  to 
accept  this  separation,  and  only  consented 
to  make  the  journey  on  the  condition  of 
being  accompanied  by  the  Prince.  There- 
upon a  dispute  arose  between  Conneau,  who 

12 


II.   COX.NKAII, 
.Me.loclti  (lu  prince  .Napolkon-I.i 


I  .*«•  iTixpIrr,  Ih.'ili,  luc  '!•  In  rii.u 


DR.   CONNEAr. 


Preliminary  Arrangements 

saw  no  reason  why  the  Prince  should  not 
make  the  journey,  and  the  rest  of  His 
Majesty's  physicians,  who  considered  that  it 
would  be  imprudent  to  move  the  child. 

It  was  impossible  to  come  to  an  agreement 
before  the  Emperor's  departure  for  Plom- 
bi^res,  and  I  believe  the  matter  is  not  yet 
entirely  decided.  At  the  moment  of  depar- 
ture the  Emperor  told  Conneau  that  since 
a  physician  accustomed  to  children  was 
required,  above  all  in  the  event  of  a  journey, 
he  authorised  him  to  speak  of  the  matter 
to  the  Empress,  and  to  propose  that  I  should 
be  selected  for  the  post. 

To  these  details  Conneau  added  a  few 
others,  relating  to  the  Prince's  health. 

He  is  a  fine,  strong  child,  feeding  well ; 
a  little  pale,  as  he  was  too  much  confined 
indoors  at  first,  at  the  time  of  his  stay  in 
Paris.  The  Emperor  wished  him  to  take  the 
air  on  the  terrace  by  the  waterside  ;  there, 
he  said,  the  King  of  Rome  and  the  children 
of  Louis  Philippe  had  been  exercised,  and 
had     flourished.        The     physician     rightly 

13 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

feared,  for  so  young  a  child,  the  breezes 
which  swept  the  terrace  from  all  points  of 
the  compass,  so  that  even  the  keepers  of 
the  garden  complained  of  them.  Conneau 
advised  the  courtyard  of  the  Tuileries,  in 
front  of  the  Carrousel,  as  the  best  locality, 
sheltered  from  the  north  and  without 
draughts. 

To  this  the  Emperor  would  never  give 
his  consent.  He  was  right,  for  there  are 
little  whirlwinds  there  directly  the  wind 
blows  ;  and  the  proximity  of  the  public  was 
another  objection.  The  result  was  that  the 
Prince  was  habitually  kept  indoors.' 

For  the  rest,  the  child  was  going  on  very 
well ;  in  the  early  stages  of  teething, 
dribbling,   and  babbling. 

Two  days  later  I  received  an  invitation 
to  present  myself  at  Saint -Cloud  at  about 
two  o'clock. 

The  carriage  delayed  me  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.      I  was  to  have  the  honour  of  being 

*  We  have  since  had  proof  that  the  rooms  were  far 
from  being  healthy  or  sufficiently  ventilated. 

14 


Introduction 

presented  to  His  Majesty,  and  it  was  very 
annoying  to  be  unpunctual  at  this  first 
presentation. 

I  saw  the  Empress,  whom  I  found  greatly 
changed  since  the  day  of  the  inauguration 
of  the  Hospital  of  Sainte -Eugenie. 


15 


II 

8  July,  1856 

I  TOLD  you  in  my  letter  of  yesterday,  my 
dear  Octavie,  that  I  had  found  the  Empress 
greatly  changed.  The  first  time  I  saw  her 
in  1854  I  should  have  said  she  was  twenty- 
four  to  twenty-five  years  old ;  to-day  she 
looked  a  good  thirty-five.  Her  painful  con- 
finement and  the  long  recovery  therefrom 
have  faded,  coarsened,  and  yellowed  the  skin 
of  her  face,  which  I  had  thought  so  fine, 
transparent,  and  youthful. 

She  was  gracious  in  her  manner,  without 
the  coldness  only  natural  to  her  exalted  posi- 
tion and  to  a  first  interview.  She  spoke 
of  the  strength  and  beauty  of  her  child,  of 
his  sweetness,  his  tranquillity,  proofs  of  the 
absence  of  any  pain.  She  asked  me  to 
16 


The  Infant  Prince 

examine  certain  little  pimples  on  his  arms 
and  his  face. 

Directly  after  this  interview  Conneau  took 
me  to  see  the  Prince,  who  was  sleeping  as 
soundly  as  possible  after  sitting  to  a  painter 
(a  surprise  which  the  Empress  has  in  store 
for  her  noble  spouse).  The  Prince  was 
sleeping  very  quietly,  his  little  dimpled 
hands  prettily  resting  in  the  manner  peculiar 
to  very  young  children.  We  have  often 
admired  this  in  our  own  dear  baby,  as  you 
will  remember.  The  Prince  has  a  fat, 
strongly-marked  face,  full  cheeks,  rather 
pale,  and  perhaps  a  trifle  flabby.  He  is  like 
all  milk-fed  children  :  his  colour  is  of  a  dull 
white  ;  he  is  fat,  and  a  little  flatulent,  but 
not  excessively  so.  I  should  have  liked  to 
see  his  eyes,  but  he  held  them  obstinately 
closed  ;    he  was  sleeping  so  soundly  ! 

After  a  few  words,  not  very  intelligiblej 
with  the  nurse,  a  young  Englishwoman  who 
doesn't  speak  a  word  of  French,  and  a  few 
more  words  with  Mme.  de  Brancion,  the 
under-governess,  I  arranged  to  see  the 
B  17 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Prince  three  times  a  week,  about  midday, 
and  on  this  I  withdrew. 


Yesterday,  the  7th  of  July,  I  returned  to 
Saint-Cloud  a  little  before  noon.  I  found 
the  Prince  taking  his  airing  in  the  park. 
How  delighted  you  would  have  been,  dear 
wife,  to  have  seen  this  lovely  place  !  What 
delicious  promenades  !  From  the  front  of 
the  chateau  one  overlooks  the  Seine,  which 
just  there  is  green  and  full  of  variety ;  it 
is  a  magnificent  panorama,  and  the  air  is 
pure  and  pleasant.  Behind,  in  the  park, 
are  the  most  charming  walks,  continually 
ascending  and  descending,  between  the  most 
beautiful  and  skilfully  planted  trees,  with 
here  and  there  sudden  glimpses  of  flower- 
beds and  basins.  The  Prince  being  con- 
cealed somewhere  in  the  midst  of  this  maze, 
I  set  out  in  search  of  him,  grateful  for  the 
balmy  air  and  the  freshness  that  tempered 
the  heat  of  the  day. 

However,  it  struck  me  afterwards  that  this 
18 


The  Infant  Prince 

charming  place  was  too  shady  for  the 
habitual  exercise  of  a  child  ;  there  was  too 
much  moisture  and  too  little  air  ;  I  must 
take  care  to  obtain  exact  information  as  to 
the  Prince's  habits,  in  order  to  modify  such 
as  do  not  seem  desirable.  When  fortune 
allows  all  that  can  be  desired  every  care 
must  be  taken  of  the  health  of  so  precious 
a  child,  and  one  must  be  checked  only  by 
the  inflexible  will  of  the  parents. 

I  soon  found  the  Prince,  lying  in  the  arms 
of  his  English  nurse,  and  accompanied  by 
a  second  woman,  who  was  there  in  place 
of  Mme.  de  Brancion,  then  at  lunch.  This 
woman  knew  no  English,  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  habits  of  the  Prince,  so,  anxious  to 
profit  by  the  absence  of  any  person  of  rank 
to  speak  with  the  Englishwoman,  I  sum- 
moned all  the  English  words  at  my  disposal, 
and  learned  the  following  facts  :— 

The  Prince  is  fed  exclusively  on  the  milk 
of  his  wet-nurse.  He  sucks  every  two  hours 
in  the  day  and  about  three  times  during  the 
night.      (It  seems  that  the  wet-nurse  is  not 

19 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

habitually  with  him,  for  I  have  not  yet  seen 
her  ;  this  is  a  good  plan  when  one  wishes 
to  train  a  child  to  regularity.) 


In  the  open  air  the  Prince  looked  to  me 
firmer  and  of  a  better  colour  than  in  his  bed. 

The  skin  of  his  little  arms  was  strongly 
mottled.  He  has  large  eyes,  of  a  deep  blue, 
limpid  and  transparent ;  they  looked  at  me 
at  first  with  astonishment ;  but  he  soon 
began  to  smile  when  I  tried  to  attract  his 
attention.  I  felt  like  hugging  him ;  you 
know  how  I  love  children,  and  he  reminded 
me  of  our  dear  Ernest,  although  his  features 
are  much  more  distinguished  than  those  of 
our  great  bumpkin. 

On  withdrawing  I  kissed  his  hand  and 
went  off  to  chat  with  Corvisart.i  ...  I 
learned  that  the  Prince  is  out  of  doors  a 
good  part  of  the  day ;  and  that  except  when 
driving  he  is  always  under  these  great  trees, 
even  so  late  as  half -past  six  in  the  evening. 

'  Second  physician  to  the  Emperor. 
20 


DR.   CORVISAKT. 


Not  a  Courtier 

When  I  was  leaving  him,  Corvisart  said — 
"  If  the  Empress  questions  you  or  asks 
your  advice  concerning  the  Prince,  always 
give  a  very  clear  and  decided  opinion.  Don't 
be  afraid  of  giving  it,  even  if  it  is  con- 
trary to  Her  Majesty's  opinion.  Leave  her 
free  to  do  as  she  likes,  but  see  that  your 
advice  is  clearly  expressed.  Her  Majesty 
is  imprudent  in  matters  that  concern  herself 
and  the  Emperor,  and  even  the  Prince." 

Corvisart  was  right,  for  if  I  gave  way  to 
Her  Majesty's  wishes  the  responsibility 
would  not  be  fairly  shared.  I  must  depre- 
cate anything  that  seems  imprudent.  I  feel 
this  as  a  matter  of  conscience  ;  if  it  is  not 
politic,  so  much  the  worse  for  me.  I  shall 
follow  Corvisart's  advice,  even  if  I  suffer 
for  it  sometimes.  I  should  never  make  a 
courtier,  nor  modify  well-meant  advice  in 
order  to  flatter. 


21 


Ill 

9  ^uly,  1856 

...  I  HAVE  seen  the  wet-nurse ;  she  is 
a  tall,  strong  woman,  with  a  good  figure, 
which  she  holds  well ;  deliciously  though 
simply  dressed,  she  looks  quite  the  fine  lady. 
A  good  nurse,  although  she  is  not  young. 
She  looks  forty,  and  must  be  thirty-five  at 
least.  She  nursed  Gu^neau  de  Mussy's 
second  child.' 

*  Physician  to  the  Orleans  family. 


22 


IV 

II  July,  1856 

.  .  .  To-day  the  Prince  has  a  much  better 
colour ;  his  face  is  more  rosy  and  his  eye 
more  lively. 

He  is  a  cheerful  child,  and  laughs  readily 
at  those  he  knows.  But  Mme.  de  Brancion 
tells  me  Rayer  recommended  that  the  Prince 
should  not  be  encouraged  to  play  too  much 
on  account  of  the  very  precocious  develop- 
ment of  his  intelligence  (he  is  hardly  four 
months  old  !),  and  that  the  excitement  might 
be  harmful  to  him.  Flatterer  I  how  well  you 
know  how  to  treat  these  people  I  The  result 
of  this  stupid  flattery  is  that  they  scarcely 
dare  to  play  with  the  Prince  or  give  him 
a  bit  of  a  shake — so  much  so  that  these  last 
few  days,  seeing  him  so  quiet,  I  was  afraid 
he    might    be    deaf,    and    made    a    serious 

23 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

test  to  assure  myself  that  his  hearing  was 
good. 

To-day  I  saw  clearly  that  Conneau  does 
not  hold  with  this  nonsense,  and  that  the 
Prince  is  far  more  cheerful  and  contented 
with  him  than  with  the  others.  How  can 
people  sacrifice  the  truth  and  the  welfare 
of  the  Prince  in  this  way  for  the  sake  of 

flattery?     For  R is  not  really  so  foolish 

as  to  confound  intelligence  with  excitability 
and  nervousness.  One  may  play  to  one's 
heart's  content  with  the  most  intelligent  child 
when  he  is  as  quiet  and  pacific  as  the  Prince. 
Later  on,  perhaps,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
see  that  he  does  not  work  his  brain  too 
assiduously.  But  as  for  playing  with  him, 
making  him  laugh,  jumping  him  up  and 
down— come,  come  !  It  would  be  quite 
another  matter  if  the  child  were  very 
nervous,  very  excitable,  and  felt  everything 
keenly  and  with  extreme  animation ;  that 
is,  if  such  momentary  excitement  were  to 
go  so  far  as  to  make  him  feverish.  Then 
there  would  be  a  reason  for  going  gently. 
24 


A  Dull  Life 

I  would  rather  believe  that  R was  mis- 
understood than  attribute  such  nonsense  to 
him. 

I  have  asked  Conneau  if  the  journey  has 
been  decided  on.  He  tells  me  it  is  highly 
probable,  but  that  he  is  not  certain.  I  would 
just  as  soon  they  did  not  consult  me.  I  have 
spoken  of  the  inconvenience  of  a  journey  ' 
in  the  heat  of  the  day  in  this  weather  ;  my 
pains  were  wasted,  as  my  advice  went  for 
nothing. 

'  The  journey  to  Biarritz. 


25 


14  July,  1856 

Every  time  I  see  the  Prince  he  seems  to 
have  gained.  I  find  more  colour  in  his 
cheek,  more  animation ;  he  grows,  so  to 
speak,  under  one's  eye.  It  is  evident  that 
the  air  of  Saint -Cloud  agrees  with  him.  Why 
change  it? 

The  Prince  is  always  constipated.  ...  I 
do  not  much  like  this  constipation ;  it  is 
contrary  to  the  nature  of  a  plump,  moist 
child,  if  I  may  use  such  an  expression.  It 
is  difficult  to  overcome ;  I  have  not  yet 
dared  to  ask  if  it  is  hereditary.  For  the 
moment  I  have  confined  myself  to  inquiring 
into  the  diet  of  the  wet-nurse,  in  order  to 
see  if  we  cannot,  by  modifying  it,  influence 
the  Prince's  constipation.  This  diet  consists 
of  a  sufficient  mixture  of  meats  and 
26 


^ 


THK    I'KINLK    I.MI-KKIAI 
lly   WinUihalhr. 


Diet 

vegetables  ;  a  bottle  of  wine  a  day,  which 
is  perhaps  a  little  too  much.  I  have  asked 
that  the  proportion  of  fruits  and  vegetables 
shall  be  slightly  increased ;  and  that  a  little 
barley-water  shall  be  mixed  with  the  wine 
at  meal -times. 


27 


VI 

23  July,  1856 

...  I  DO  not  like  to  accustom  children  to 
drugs.  By  habit  the  body  loses  its  sensi- 
bility to  remedies,  and  when  it  becomes 
necessary  to  make  it  obedient,  one  has  to 
strike  heavy  blows,  which  are  not  always 
without  unpleasant  consequences.  I  much 
prefer  to  preserve  this  impressionability, 
which  allows  us  to  move  ^in  the  desired 
direction  by  means  of  a  slight  effort  only.' 

^  This  was  precisely  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  Miss 
Shaw,  who,  imbued  with  the  prejudices  of  EngUsh 
nurses,  drugged  the  Prince  continually  and  said 
nothing  about  it.  I  was  told,  in  this  connection,  a 
host  of  things  which  I  could  not  take  into  account  for 
want  of  proof.  It  will  readily  be  understood  that  this 
young  nurse,  whose  character  was  extremely  authori- 
tative, and  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  Empress, 
wanted  to  be  the  mistress  ;  that  the  wet-nurse  was 
jealous  of  her,  and  that  the  under-governesses  took 
28 


A  Masterful  Nurse 

I  brought  my  visit  to  a  close  (to-day) 
by  expressing  a  desire  to  be  present  at  the 
Prince's  toilet.  It  will  be  worth  while,  as 
I  may  perhaps  learn  something,  or  be  able 
to  suggest  a  few  modifications  if  there  should 
seem  occasion.  He  has  two  toilets  a  day, 
with  a  bath  morning  and  evening.    .    .  . 

their  duties  very  seriously,  wishing  to  direct  every- 
thing, while  in  reality  they  were  expected  only  to 
exercise  a  general  supervision.  Hence,  necessarily, 
disputes  and  insinuations  which  I  had  not  the  right  to 
regard  as  the  truth.  Amid  all  these  disputes  Miss 
Shaw  was  always  the  mistress,  and  usually  for  the 
Prince's  good.  Very  often  she  was  only  satisfying  her 
English  prejudices,  in  a  way  that  did  not  seem  to  me 
dangerous,  though  it  was  certainly  very  useless.  I  still 
remember  how  for  years  her  prejudices  were  the  despair 
of  the  Prince,  forcing  him,  to  cool  his  blood,  so  she  said, 
to  eat  spinach,  which  he  detested,  having  been  so  long 
stuffed  with  it.  But  the  dear  child  loved  his  nurse  so 
devotedly  that  he  always  gave  way  in  order  to  please 
her.  From  this  state  of  things  it  resulted  that  I  was 
not  really  the  master  in  the  matter  of  his  diet,  the 
nature  of  which  was  very  largely  concealed  from  me  ; 
moreover,  despite  all  my  efforts  to  avoid  conflict  with 
this  power,  I  suffered  later  on  the  penalty  of  my  dislike 
of  drugs. 

29 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

On  July  2  1,  at  six  o'clock,  I  entered  the 
Prince's  apartments  to  see  this  toilet.  He 
was  still  taking  the  air.  Conneau  told  me 
the  constipation  persisted,  and  suggested 
syrup  of  manna.  .  .  .  Then  the  conversa- 
tion became  more  general,  and  among 
other  things  ,which  Conneau  told  me  I 
remember  these  :— 

The  Empress,  who  is  said  to  be  enceinte, 
is  not  so.  If  it  should  happen  she  wishes 
to  be  chloroformed.  She  may  even  force 
Jobert  to  do  it  without  cause,  simply  to  dis- 
cover whether  she  can  be.  She  has  not  yet 
recovered  from  her  accouchement.   .    .  . 

It  is  very  difficult  to  take  any  care  of  her ; 
it  is  the  same  with  the  Emperor.  The  latter 
thinks  there  is  an  immediate  remedy  for 
every  kind  of  suffering.  He  bears  the 
resulting  pain  with  patience  and  a  genuine 
stoicism.  He  gets  into  the  saddle  with 
blisters  recently  applied  to  his  calves  and 
thighs  ;  he  induces  pustulous  eruptions  on 
the  back ;  I  believe  that  he  even  applies 
moxas,  all  without  any  fuss,  without  any  of 
30 


CRADLE  OF  THE   PRINCE  IMPERIAL. 
Given  by  the  Empress  to  the  city  of  Paris. 


The  Imperial  Pair 

those  about  him  suspecting  his  sufferings. 
But  it  is  quite  another  matter  with  spon- 
taneous suffering.  He  is  subject  to 
neuralgia,  especially  cutaneous,  which  throws 
him  into  a  state  of  impatience  impossible 
to  describe.  He  reproaches  his  physicians 
for  the  failure  of  their  remedies,  and  believes 
in  the  first  quack  he  comes  across.  Som- 
nambulism, magnetism,  homoeopathy :  he 
accepts   them  all ;     even   table-turning  ! 

Shortly  afterwards  Mme.  Bruat  arrived, 
wife  of  the  Admiral,  and  governess  of  the 
royal  children,  with  Mme.  Bizot,  an  under- 
governess.  Very  soon  the  Prince  was 
brought  in  from  his  outing,  fresh,  rosy,  and 
healthy-looking.  Always  calm,  good,  and 
sweet-tempered,  neither  crying  nor  scream- 
ing ;  laughing  sometimes,  with  Conneau 
more  especially,  and  then  turning  to  me  to 
inspect  me  with  a  coolness  that  is  .  .  . 
quite  imperial  ! 

When  all  is  said,  I  am  not  at  all  surprised 
at  this  quiet  and  serious  manner.  It  may 
be  a  result  of  the  Prince's  temperament,  but 

31 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

it  must  be  increased  by  his  habitual  environ- 
ment. There  is  never  any  familiarity  in  his 
presence  ;  all  those  he  sees  are  in  full  dress, 
all  are  quiet  in  their  manner,  and  notice 
no  one  but  himself.  He  is  the  point  of 
departure  and  the  goal ;  the  prime  centre  of 
a  calm,  regular,  monotonous  movement.  He 
lives  in  spacious  apartments,  and  is  carried, 
for  his  airings,  under  lofty  trees,  or  along 
a  wide  terrace  with  a  distant  view.  He 
knows  nothing  of  the  laughter,  the  jumping, 
the  change  of  expression,  the  tears,  the 
angers,  and  the  delights,  which  vary  life 
when  a  number  of  children  are  together ; 
all  matters  that  the  very  youngest  babies 
regard  with  such  interest  and  curiosity,  and 
through  which  they  become  animated  and 
develop  themselves  ;  which  they  understand 
and  remember,  from  which  they  form  con- 
ceptions and  begin  to  learn  far  sooner  than 
is  thought.  The  environment  in  which  a 
child  lives  acts  upon  him  as  soon  as  his  eyes 
can  see  and  distinguish,  as  soon  as  his  ears 
can  hear.  While  sucking,  he  curiously 
32 


The  Infant  Prince 

examines  the  face  of  the  being  who  gives 
him  that  pleasant  food.  If  he  sees  smihng 
eyes,  watchful  of  his  comfort  and  con- 
venience, he  very  soon  smiles.  If  it  is  still 
the  same  face  that  he  sees,  laughing  and 
speaking,  talking  to  him,  while  the  hand  he 
knows  washes  him  and  removes  the  things 
that  irk  and  fidget  him,  he  grows  accus- 
tomed to  it  all  the  more  quickly,  becomes 
attached  to  it,  and  makes  all  the  more  rapid 
progress. 

Here  the  child  is  brought  to  the  wet- 
nurse,  who  gives  him  the  breast  every  two 
or  three  hours,  seriously  and  methodically, 
aping  the  fine  lady ;  then  the  Prince  is 
removed.  The  wet-nurse  is  a  bottle,  no 
more.  She  gives  the  food  of  the  body,  but 
for  the  food  of  the  mind  the  child  must  look 
elsewhere.  And  I  have  never  seen  the 
Prince  examine  the  face  of  his  nourrice  while 
he  sucks  ;    he  always  looks  elsewhere. 

I  blame  no  one  ;    I  merely  relate  what  I 

see,  and  add  that  this,  to  my  mind,  is  why 

at  four  months  old  the  Prince   Imperial  is 

^  33 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

already  so  cold,  so  quiet,  so  impassive  ;  why 
he  laughs  only  at  those  who  laugh  at  him  : 
Conneau  and  his  nurse.  Is  this  an  advan- 
tage or  otherwise?  I  do  not  judge;  per- 
haps I  should  say  yes,  for  here  is  the  begin- 
ning of  the  education  which  a  prince  has 
to  receive.  But  this  is  not  in  my  province, 
and  to  discuss  it  would  call  for  a  serious 
essay,  not  a  hastily  written  letter. 

We  went  in  to  watch  his  toilet :  the  Prince 
facing  the  light  on  the  knees  of  his  English 
nurse,  and  we  in  a  half -circle  round  him. 
I  got  as  near  to  him  as  I  could  ;  there  was 
only  the  bath  between  us.  At  this  moment 
the  Empress  came  in,  wearing  a  floating 
robe  of  garnet  colour  or  thereabouts,  with 
a  number  of  cross -bands  of  green  and 
yellow,  and  an  ample  crinoline.  .  .  .  She 
joined  our  circle,  and  made  every  one  sit ; 
I  found  myself  next  to  her,  touching  her 
dress. 

The  Prince  was  undressed  and  placed 
entirely  naked  on  the  knees  of  the  English- 
woman, who  did  everything  with  remark - 
34 


A  Solemn  Toilet 

able  skill  and  rapidity.  I  was  able  to  admire 
the  Prince's  body ;  it  is  plump,  dimpled, 
firm,  well-made,  a  mottled  rose,  and  healthy 
enough  to  please  any  one ;  in  short,  a 
delightful  baby,  fine,  strong,  and  of  a  good 
constitution. 

With  a  piece  of  fine  linen,  forming  a  soft 
soapy  pad,  the  Englishwoman  gently  rubbed 
the  whole  surface  of  the  body,  the  head, 
neck,  and  arms— all,  in  short,  except  the  face. 
After  this  general  friction,  gentle  but 
thorough,  the  Prince  was  plunged  into  the 
bath  and  there  rubbed  with  a  soft  sponge  ; 
at  the  end  of  two  or  three  minutes  he  was 
taken  out  and  wrapped  in  a  flannel  dressing- 
jacket  ;  the  head  was  dried  first,  and  then 
covered  with  a  nightcap,  and  the  face  washed 
with  a  fine  sponge.  The  Prince  has  the  same 
taste  as  Ernest ;  he  opens  his  mouth  and 
tries  to  get  the  sponge  on  his  tongue.  His 
body  having  been  dried,  first  with  flannel 
and  then  with  a  fine  linen,  he  was  dabbed 
several  times  over  with  scented  powder,  all 
over  the   body,   from  his   head  to  his  feet, 

35 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

and  for  a  few  moments  he  was  gently  rubbed 
with  the  hand.  This  done,  the  Prince  was 
dressed  and  put  to  his  nurse's  breast. 

All  this  time  the  conversation  was  almost 
continuous,  and  its  subject  was  almost 
always  the  Prince ;  at  all  events  I  shall 
only  refer  to  that  part  of  it.  It  was 
remarked  that  the  Prince  allowed  this  long 
and  tedious  toilet  to  be  concluded  without 
crying  or  exhibiting  the  slightest  impatience  ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  appeared  highly  satisfied, 
playing  with  the  forearm  of  his  English 
nurse.  It  must  be  admitted  that  all  was  done 
with  a  skill  and  an  ease  which  were  a 
pleasure  to  watch.  He  only  gave  a  few 
little  cries  when  his  outer  clothes  were  being 
put  on,  and  then  he  was  apparently  hungry. 
The  toilet  seemed  to  me  sensible  and  skil- 
fully effected.  There  is  nothing  I  wish  to 
alter. 

The  Empress  asked  me  if  the  Prince 
ought  not  very  soon  to  give  up  his  long 
clothes  for  "  shorts."  I  replied  that  he 
might  well  be  left  as  he  is  for  the  whole  of 
36 


A  Mother's  Anxieties 

the  coming  winter  ;  for  I  do  not  see  that 
anything  is  to  be  gained  by  putting  short 
clothes  on  a  child  that  is  constantly  carried 
in  the  arms.  The  long  clothes,  in  which  the 
legs  are  so  comfortable  and  so  well  pro- 
tected, are  excellently  adapted  for  the  winter  ; 
but  Her  Majesty  does  not  take  that  into 
account.  She  is  impatient ;  she  does  not 
notice  the  progress  that  is  made  ;  she  finds 
it  too  slow  ;  she  would  like  to  see  the  Prince 
more  advanced  :  at  four  months  she  would 
have  him  a  child  of  ten  months  ;  yet  he  is 
really  well  forward,  and  one  could  not  wish 
for  anything  better. 

She  worries  herself,  too,  about  the  most 
futile  things.  His  hand  is  too  hot,  or  his 
head  is  too  big,  or  too  hot ;  he  makes  no 
progress ;  his  movements  are  undecided ; 
he  makes  all  sorts  of  zigzags  before  arriving 
at  the  object  he  wants  to  take  hold  of.  In 
short,  she  is  a  mother  with  her  first  child, 
and  has  to  serve  her  apprenticeship. 


37 


Empress  Eugenie  and   her  Circle 

Conneau  seems  to  be  very  much  attached 
to  the  Emperor,  and  to  admire  him  greatly, 
and  to  want  others  to  admire  him,  which  is 
just  as  it  should  be  ;  he  does  not  seem  to  be 
so  enthusiastic  about  the  Empress.  Twice 
I  have  remarked  to  him  that  she  was  ex- 
tremely gracious,  and  on  both  occasions  he 
made  no  reply ;  I  even  thought  I  detected 
a  sort  of  internal  grimace,  as  much  as  to 
say  that  he  thought  otherwise.  But  this  may 
not  be  so  in  reality,  and  it  is  not  my  duty 
to  look  into  matters  that  in  no  way  affect 
the  health  of  the  Prince. 

After  dinner  we  had  another  long  talk 
about  the  Emperor,  and  about  a  letter  which 
he  had  just  written  to  the  Minister  '  in 
respect  of  the  floods,  the  invention  of  floating 
batteries,  and  the  influence  they  may  have 
exerted  on  the  decision  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander  in  favour  of  peace,2  as  he  may 
have   feared   that   Kronstadt   would  not   be 

'  The  Emperor  was  then  at  Plombieres. 
=  The  Treaty  of  Paris,  which  terminated  the  Crimean 
War. 
38 


War  Talk 

able  to  resist  this  means  of  destruction.  And, 
indeed,  when  one  reflects  that  at  Kimburn 
one  of  these  batteries  received  sixty  pro- 
jectiles, which  in  no  way  damaged  it,  and 
killed  only  one  man,  one  understands  that  as 
things  are  now  a  stone  fort  could  not  offer 
a  sufficient  resistance  or  defence. 

I  left  well  content  with  my  afternoon  and 
evening.  Conneau  was  very  agreeable  to 
me,  as  well  as  perfectly  simple  and  natural  ; 
for  that  matter,  I  think  he  is  so  in  his  inner 
life.  I  learned  that  the  Emperor  will  very 
soon  return,  and  that  I  shall  be  warned  in 
time  as  to  whether  the  journey  to  Biarritz 
will  take  place  or  not.  And  Conneau  was 
careful  to  tell  me  that  this  uncertainty  does 
not  arise  because  the  Emperor  might  change 
his  mind,  but  simply  because  he  does  not 
declare  it. 


39 


VII 

II  August,  1856 

After  my  visit  to  the  Prince,  the  Emperor, 
who  had  just  arrived,  sent  for  me.  He  was 
with  the  Empress  ;  I  went  in  with  Conneau. 
The  Emperor  was  gracious  and  smihng. 
He  chatted  for  a  minute  standing,  then  sat 
down.  We  spoke  of  the  health  of  the 
Prince,  the  means  of  keeping  his  bowels 
open,  the  objections  to  a  stay  in  the  South, 
the  dangers  of  travel,  and  the  sanitary  con- 
dition of  Paris  and  Biarritz.  On  the  whole 
I  sought  to  reassure  their  Majesties  as  to  the 
health  of  the  Prince  and  the  dangers  of  the 
journey ;  and,  indeed,  I  hope  that  with  a 
few  precautions  there  will  be  no  ill  results. 

The  Emperor  and  Conneau  spoke  very 
little.  The  Empress  and  I  were  responsible 
for  most  of  the  conversation.  This  was  as 
40 


Their  Majesties 


it  should  be ;  one  was  a  woman  and  a 
mother  and  the  other  was  there  to  make 
himself  heard. 

The  Emperor  seemed  to  me  stouter, 
older,   and  serious,   even  sad. 

I  myself  was  sensible  of  a  somewhat 
painful  impression  when  I  entered  this  vast 
salon,  in  the  middle  of  which  their  Majesties 
showed  as  two  melancholy  and  isolated 
specks.  It  seemed  to  me  there  was  a  lack 
of  life  ;  great  rooms  too  big  for  two  persons 
alone  ;  the  groom  of  the  chamber  dismissed, 
the  etiquette  more  or  less  severe,  no  equality, 
no  familiarity — it  is  enough  to  kill  one  with 
boredom.  We  are  often  overcrowded  in  our 
little  room  when  we  are  all  there,  and  can 
hardly  hear  ourselves  speak,  but  at  least 
there  is  life  there ;  that  is,  animation, 
laughter,  tears,  variety,  activity.  .  .  .  No, 
nothing  is  so  charming  as  my  own  dear 
home. 

I  returned  to  Paris  with  Conneau.  He  has 
made  me  promise  (a  cruel  and  rather  ridicu- 
lous thing)  to  allow  them  to  replace  me  at 

41 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  hospital  whenever  there  is  an  epidemic. 
What  am  I  to  understand  by  that?  Is  it  an 
epidemic  every  time  a  certain  number  of 
scarlet  fever  cases  appear  simultaneously,  as 
happens  two  or  three  times  a  year,  every 
time  we  have  a  few  cases  of  mumps,  or 
whenever  typhoid  fever  invades  some  of  the 
wards?  If  this  is  what  is  meant,  it  would 
be  just  as  well  to  suggest,  as  was  done  some 
few  months  ago,  that  I  should  leave  the 
hospital.  To  be  replaced  when  there  are 
patients  for  me  !  In  spring,  in  autumn,  and 
in  winter  !  To  be  replaced  when  the  Court 
goes  to  the  sea  !  When,  at  this  rate,  should 
I  be  able  to  attend?  This  is  cowardice,  or 
rather  legitimate  dread  founded  on  ignorance 
of  the  facts.' 

'  No  doubt  I  made  too  much  of  this  request  of 
Conneau's,  which  was  made,  I  believe,  by  the  Emperor. 
His  Majesty's  fear  was  very  natural,  and  I  have  often 
felt  it  since  in  respect  of  my  private  patients,  having 
seen  contagious  diseases  conveyed  in  such  a  manner. 
I  am  sure  physicians  cannot  take  too  great  precautions 
against  becoming  agents  of  infection.  However,  His 
42 


Professional   Difficulties 

Majesty's  wish  remained  a  dead  letter  ;  I  was  never 
required  to  give  up  my  hospital  duties,  and  the  few 
precautions  I  was  careful  to  take  were  sufficient  ;  I 
never  carried  any  malady  to  my  dear  httle  Prince. 
In  the  matter  of  contagious  maladies,  he  suffered  only 
from  scarlet  fever,  and  the  means  by  which  it  entered 
the  chateau  was  perfectly  established  at  the  time. 


43 


VIII 

Biarritz,  21  August,  1856 

I  ARRIVED  in  Paris  with  the  firm  intention 
of  going  to  bed  and  completing  my  night  by 
three  hours'  sound  sleep.  So  I  got  into 
bed,  and  to  help  myself  to  sleep  I  opened 
and  read  some  letters.  The  last  of  these,  in 
an  unknown  hand,  was  signed  "  la  Grange  " 
(squire-in-waiting  to  His  Majesty),  and  in- 
formed me  that  at  eight  o'clock  the  following 
day  my  luggage  would  be  sent  for,  that  the 
Imperial  convoy  would  set  out  at  six  in  the 
evening,  and  that  my  valet  might  travel 
with  me  and  take  with  him  the  few  things 
necessary  for  use  on  the  journey.  On  read- 
ing this  I  jumped  to  my  feet,  all  desire  to 
sleep  having  vanished.  None  of  my  things 
were  ready,  and  as  for  a  valet,  good  God  I 
44 


Is  a  Valet  Necessary  ? 

—I  do  not  know  what  such  a  thing  is  1  Must 
I  engage  one  at  once  or  could  I  dispense 
with  one?  In  short,  I  made  haste,  having 
thrown  on  a  few  clothes— for  the  suddenness 
of  the  thing  had  prevented  my  realising  that 
I  was  more  or  less  in  pur  is  naturalibas — I 
made  haste,  I  say,  to  commence  my  prepara- 
tions for  the  journey. 

I  then  set  out  for  Saint-Cloud,  to  question 
Conneau  concerning  this  nightmare  of  a 
valet.  Not  expecting  to  see  the  Prince,  I 
had  dressed  as  simply  as  possible — old  coat, 
old  trousers,  old  shoes.  Conneau  told  me 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  valet ;  for 
the  rest,  he  would  introduce  me  to  the 
Marquis  de  la  Grange,  with  whom  I  could 
talk  matters  over.  He  then  preceded  me 
and  took  me  up  into  the  State  apartments, 
where  I  suddenly  found  myself  amidst  a 
numerous  company,  and  while  I  was  dis- 
cussing matters  an  old  general  officer 
(Rolin),  who  seemed  to  be  the  chief  per- 
sonage present,  invited  me  to  breakfast, 
and  next   moment    I   was   in  a  magnificent 

45 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

dining-hall,  adorned  by  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  pieces  of  furniture  from  the  Exhi- 
bition, and  I  was  seated  between  Conneau 
and  the  Duchesse  de  Bassano.  All  this 
happened  so  quickly  that  I  had  no  time  to 
reflect  what  a  sorry  figure  I  must  have  cut 
in  my  old  clothes  in  that  company ;  at  the 
same  time  I  learned  that  in  my  new  position 
I  must  always  be  ready  and  under  arms. 

I  withdrew  with  a  promise  that  I  should 
be  given  a  servant  to  wait  on  me.  To-day 
I  understand  the  full  value  of  a  valet.  In 
a  small  house  where  there  are  few  people 
and  in  which  each  has  his  or  her  work,  I 
am  badly  looked  after,  and  I  do  not  suppose 
it  would  cost  me  any  more  to  have  a  modest 
domestic  transported,  lodged,  and  fed  at  His 
Majesty's  expense. 

Finally,  at  half-past  five,  I  reached  the 
station,  where  I  admired  the  Imperial  train 
in  which  I  was  to  travel.  I  can  assure  you, 
my  dear  Octavie,  it  is  a  fine  sight,  and  well 
arranged ;  the  whole  consists  of  eight  cars, 
the  two  first  being  intended  for  the  luggage 

46 


The  Imperial  Train 

and  the  servants ;  then  follow  five  of 
the  biggest  and  tallest  cars  I  have  ever 
seen,  each  forming  a  great  saloon,  and  com- 
municating with  the  others  by  means  of  a 
door  and  a  hanging  gangway  suspended 
above  the  couplings.  The  first  of  these, 
furnished  with  sofas,  chairs,  armchairs, 
tables,  and  a  long  folding  table,  serves  as 
the  dining-room.  In  a  small  compartment 
in  the  front  of  the  car  is  the  pantry,  and  on 
the  other  side  the  lavatory.  Once  the  table 
is  folded  away  the  dining-room  becomes  a 
drawing-room  for  the  use  of  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen -in -waiting.  Next  comes  a  saloon 
open  on  all  sides,  intended  for  smokers ; 
then  a  car  for  their  Majesties'  private  salon. 
Finally  their  Majesties'  bedroom,  then  that 
of  the  Prince  and  his  women,  with  partitions 
suited  to  everybody's  comfort. 

Directly  the  train  had  started  the  Empress 
retired  to  her  salon  with  her  ladies,  and  the 
Emperor  remained  for  some  time  with  us  ; 
we  were  the  Comte  Tascher  de  le  Pagerie, 
General  E.  Ney,  the  Marquis  de  la  Grange, 

47 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  Marquis  de  Cadore,  M.  de  Richemont, 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  railway,  and  your 
father,  my  big  Sophie. '  While  chatting,  I 
studied  the  equipment  of  the  two  cars  which 
were  set  apart  for  us.  Our  salon,  with  win- 
dows of  the  finest  plate  glass,  and  elsewhere 
upholstered  in  stamped  leather,  brown  and 
green,  relieved  by  arabesques  in  gold, 
carpeted,  and  lit  by  four  lamps,  is  really  a 
chartning  apartment  ;  hardly  convenient, 
however,  to  pass  the  night  in.  But,  my 
little  Christine,  as  I  have  promised  not  to 
complain  any  more  I  will  not  insist  on  this 
insignificant  detail. 

Our  smoking-room,  all  of  iron,  is  enclosed 
by  a  balustrade,  at  a  comfortable  height  to 
lean  upon,  of  openwork,  representing  leaves 
and  interlacing  branches.  The  roof  is  sup- 
ported by  eight  rods  of  iron,  bright  and 
worked  with  ornament ;  it  is  adorned  with 
paintings  and  various  decorations.  Chairs, 
campstools,   and  settees   are  there  in  suffi- 

"  Dr.     Barthez    had    one    son,    Ernest,    and     two 
daughters,  Sophie  and  Christine. 
48 


The  Journey  to  Biarritz 

dent  numbers,  and  great  curtains  of  thick 
tapestry  close  the  four  sides  at  will.  .  .  . 
The  locomotive  whistles  ;  we  are  travelling 
at  fifty  miles  an  hour,  a  very  pretty  speed, 
which  is  maintained  with  perfect  regularity 
as  far  as  Bordeaux.  The  train  was  admir- 
ably driven,  avoiding  all  shocks  and  sudden 
stoppages,  with  all  the  skill  needful  to  avoid 
compromising  the  security  of  our  country 
by  an  accident.  For  to  risk  the  lives  of 
the  three  members  of  the  Imperial  family 
was  to  risk  everything  at  once.  It  is  said 
that  the  Ministers  were  none  too  pleased  at 
the  idea  of  this  journey. 

Towards  seven  o'clock  the  table  was  laid, 
and  the  Empress  and  her  ladies  came  into 
our  car  ;  they  were  Mesdames  de  Lourmel, 
de  la  Bedoyere,  and  de  Brancion.  We  sat 
at  table— a  little  crowded,  it  must  be  owned  ; 
the  table,  being  too  narrow,  did  not  reach 
the  divans,  and  being  too  short,  we  could 
not  all  sit  at  it  very  conveniently  ;  however, 
we  squeezed  up,  and  finally  managed  to  find 
room.  The  Emperor  was  at  one  corner— a 
D  49 


Empress  Eugenie  and   her  Circle 

very  small  corner  !— with  a  sharp  angle 
sticking  into  his  stomach  ;  he  had  only  just 
room  for  his  plate  ;  I  say  plate  out  of  habit, 
but  it  was  really  a  silver  dish.  Beside  the 
Emperor  were  the  Empress,  M.  de  Riche- 
mont,  myself,  and  M.  de  Cadore.  Opposite 
the  Emperor  were  Madame  de  Lourmel,  M. 
de  la  Grange,  Madame  de  la  Bedoyere, 
General  Ney,  Madame  de  Brancion,  and  M. 
Tascher,  the  latter  occupying  one  end. 

Cold  game  was  served,  partridges,  ham, 
cheese,  fruits,  and  excellent  wine. 

The  conversation  was  gay,  simple,  unre- 
strained, and  full  of  laughter.  The  Empress 
spoke  a  great  deal,  and  we  laughed  heartily 
at  one  another's  salhes .  It  would  have  been 
impossible  to  put  people  more  at  their  ease. 
We  had  the  appearance  of  wealthy,  uncere- 
monious folk  giving  themselves  the  pleasure 
of  a  travelling  party.  Their  Majesties  are 
very  kind,  cheerful,  and  merry,  the  Empress 
with  the  more  vivacity  and  "  go,"  the 
Empemr  calmer.  He  speaks  often  enough, 
laughs  often,  and  what  he  says  is  just  and 
SO 


The  Emperor 

sound.  His  words  always  bear  the  stamp 
that  may  be  observed  in  everything  said 
by  a  man  who  sees  clearly  and  is  well 
informed.  His  conversation,  without  being 
abundant,  is  agreeable,  instructive  even,  and 
often  witty.  When  we  were  passing  the 
tower  of  Montlhery  he  was  presented  with 
an  engraving  representing  the  countryside, 
and  in  this  connection  he  quoted  for  us  the 
exact  words  of  an  old  historian  on  the 
subject  of  the  battle  of  Montlhery.  I  often 
regret  that  I  cannot  recollect  the  more 
strikmg  phrases  and  quips  that  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing. 

After  the  meal  the  Empress  retired,  the 
Emperor  remaining  with  us  some  time 
longer,  smoking  a  few  cigarettes  and  in- 
viting us  to  smoke.  I  did  as  the  others. 
I  smoked  right  under  His  Majesty's  nose, 
which  was  hardly  polite,  but  His  Majesty 
was  good  enough  to  put  up  with  it. 

As  the  evening  drew  on,  each  made  his 
preparations  for  the  night,  and  hats  were 
quickly  changed  for  caps.     I  put  on  the  soft 

51 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

felt  which  I  bought  on  the  recommendation 
of  my  dear  Httle  wife,  and  I  assure  you  I 
was  the  best  capped  man  of  the  company. 
Then  we  settled  for  the  night,  some  playing, 
others  sleeping.  Very  soon  we  were  all 
asleep,  each  adopting  a  more  or  less  pictur- 
esque attitude  and  commencing  to  snore. 

Towards  three  in  the  morning  I  awoke, 
hearing  a  slight  noise,  and  through  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  salon  I  saw  a  laughing 
face  which  had  all  the  appearance  of  making 
game  of  us.  It  was  the  Empress,  who  came 
to  surprise  us,  and  who  laughed  with  all  her 
might  at  our  fashion  of  sleeping.  Very  soon 
we  were  all  on  our  feet,  and  Her  Majesty 
retired,  telling  us  that  reprisals  were  not 
permitted. 

At  Bordeaux,  which  we  had  to  cross  in 
order  to  change  from  one  railway  to  another, 
we  stopped  to  take  a  cup  of  coffee.  The 
table  was  too  small ;  nearly  everybody  was 
seated  at  it :  there  was  no  room  left  for 
me,  so  I  decided  to  go  out,  grumbling  a 
little  at  my  stomach,  which  was  calling  for 
52 


The  Journey  to   Biarritz 

food  a  little  more  loudly  than  was  comfort- 
able, when  the  Empress,  perceiving  my 
retreat,  very  graciously  called  me  and  had 
room  made  for  me.  This  attentiveness  and 
graciousness  are  continual  in  private  life, 
stiffness   being  absolutely  banished. 

Having  crossed  the  city  in  open  carriages, 
we  took  the  Southern  Railway  and  were  soon 
crossing  the  Landes .  WTiat  a  country  !  You 
have  to  see  it  to  form  any  idea  of  these 
immense  uncultivated  plains,  which  stretch 
farther  than  the  eye  can  see.  For  several 
hours  of  our  journey  I  saw  nothing  but  a 
flat  country  varied  by  thickets  of  briar,'  and 
now  and  then  by  a  forest  of  pines  on  the 
horizon.  Not  a  village,  not  a  house  ;  occa- 
sionally a  wretched  cabin ;  and  the  only 
inhabitants  a  few  rare  shepherds  perched  on 
their  long  stilts.  I  asked  myself  if  these 
were    not    the    vast    primitive    prairies    of 

'  This  briar  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  English 
briar,  but  is  a  giant  heath  with  a  whitish  flower,  the 
underground  roots  of  which  are  used  for  the  famous 
pipes. 

53 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

America  and  whether  I  should  not  presently 
see  the  last  of  the  Mohicans. 

At  last  we  reached  Bayonne,  where  we 
were  received  by  the  military  and  civil 
authorities,  and  where  we  got  into  carriages 
for  the   journey  to  Biarritz. 

We  had  to  traverse  the  city ;  it  is  charm- 
ing, beautified  as  it  is  by  the  confluence  of 
the  Adour  and  the  Nive,  and  by  delicious 
glimpses  of  landscape.  All  the  inhabitants 
were  out  of  doors,  and  a  genuine  enthusiasm 
broke  out  at  every  moment  of  our  passage. 

Imagine,  Christine,  your  father  driving 
through  the  midst  of  all  these  people  in  a 
four-horse  carriage,  driven  by  two  postilions 
gilded  at  every  seam,  with  pigtails  and 
powdered  hair,  all  followed  by  a  squadron 
of  cavalry  !  Don't  you  feel  proud  ?  Well, 
dear  girl,  don't  feel  too  proud.  All  that 
doesn't  make  me  a  scrap  more  valuable, 
and  it  certainly  won't  take  me  to  heaven. 
And  then  none  of  this  magnificence  belongs 
to  me  ;  and  it  may  all  vanish  like  a  golden 
dream  1  Such  a  little  thing  would  be  enough 
54 


Arrival   at  Biarritz 

to  destroy  it  !  A  mistake  of  some  sort  on 
my  part,  and  already  I  have  made  a  good 
many ;  and  then  there  are  compensations  of 
which  your  young  head  knows  nothing.  If 
you  knew  how  often  already  I  have  told 
myself  that  I  prefer  my  own  modest  home 
to  all  the  luxury  that  surrounds  me— ah,  my 
dear  daughters,  don't  let  vanity  enter  your 
hearts  in  thinking  of  the  position  I  have  been 
given.  Shall  I  be  any  better  for  it  before 
God  ?  Alas,  no  !  Shall  I  be  happier  because 
of  it?  Certainly  not.  Ask  God  that  I  may 
be  and  remain  an  honest  man  and  good 
Christian :  and  then  accept  good  fortune 
without  pride  and  with  simplicity  ;  receive 
bad  fortune  without  regret  and  with  resigna- 
tion. Let  us  follow  the  path  such  as  God 
has  made  it  for  us.  To  better  our  lot  upon 
earth  is  a  duty,  but  do  not  let  us  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  well-doing  is  a  far  more 
imperative  duty.    .    .    . 

Well,  we  drove  along  the  road  from 
Bayonne  to  Biarritz  in  a  big  carriage,  under 
a  sun  which  shot  his  most  fiery  rays  at  us 

55 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her   Circle 

point-blank.  I  was  beside  Madame  de 
Lourmel,  the  widow  of  a  general  much  loved 
by  the  Emperor,  who,  so  I  read  in  the  papers 
the  other  day,  very,  foolishly  sacrificed  his 
life  in  an  attack  which  he  led  against  Sebas- 
topol.  I  say  foolishly  because  he  rushed 
forward  with  a  courage  as  useless  as  it  was 
heroic  and  sublime  against  a  point  quite 
impregnable  to  attack. 

At  last  we  reached  Biarritz :  a  bare 
country,  without  trees,  without  green  leaves  ; 
but  that  is  only  the  dark  side  of  the  picture. 
It  is  not  a  flat  country  like  your  hideous 
Langrune.  .  .  .  (I  call  it  hideous  on  account 
of  the  landscape,  not  on  account  of  those 
who  live  there,  who  beautify  it  in  my  eyes 
and  give  it  all  the  charms  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful country  in  the  world.)  Biarritz  is 
broken  up  in  the  most  picturesque  manner  : 
cliffs,  detached  rocks  standing  in  the  sea, 
the  city  built  in  an  amphitheatre,  and  the 
chateau  placed  in  a  delightful  situation 
giving  the  most  agreeable  view  of  every 
part . 

56 


IX 

22-27  August,  1856 

I  BROKE  off  my  tale,  my  dearly  loved  wife, 
at  the  moment  of  our  arrival  at  the  Villa 
Eugenie,  as  they  call  the  chateau  of  Biarrits 
(or  Biarritz,  for  one  and  both  forms  is  or  are 
used). 

Lunch  was  fixed  for  noon  ;  I  had  only 
just  time  to  dress.  I  hurried  and  was  ready 
well  before  the  hour.  I  profited  thereby  to 
write  to  you  and  announce  our  happy 
arrival.  I  was  joking  a  little  to  the  effect 
that  I  must  not  keep  His  Majesty  waiting, 
and  was  sealing  my  letter,  extremely  pleased 
at  having  finished  it  before  lunch,  and  was 
loafing  about  until  I  should  be  called,  when 
suddenly  in  came  a  servant :  "  Monsieur  le 
Docteur,  His  Majesty  is  at  table  !  "  A 
thunderclap  !      Just   what    I   had  wished   to 

57 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

avoid  had  happened.  I  had  the  shame  of 
passing  in  front  of  their  Majesties  and  the 
misfortune  to  sit  down — after  the  first 
course  had  been  commenced.  There,  my 
dear  Octavie,  you  see  what  my  desire  to 
reassure  you  has  cost  me  ;  judge  by  that 
of  my  guilt. 

The  Villa  Eugenie  is  a  little  chateau,  a 
mere  chocolate-box,  built  of  brick  and  stone, 
with  one  story  above  ground  floor ;  it  is 
set  on  a  little  promontory,  a  short  distance 
from  the  town.  This  promontory  juts  out 
a  little  way  into  the  creek  which  runs  north- 
ward of  Biarritz,  which  is  called  "  The 
Madmen's  Beach."  When  the  sea  is  up  it 
beats  on  the  terrace  wall  of  the  chateau,  and 
even  runs  up  a  little  way  on  either  side,  so 
as  to  turn  the  terrace  into  a  sort  of  penin- 
sula. In  front  of  the  chateau  you  look 
westward,  over  the  open  sea ;  to  the  left 
is  the  south,  with  the  promontory  on  which 
the  town  is  built ;  to  the  right  the  north, 
where  jagged  cliffs  rise  in  a  semicircle,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  promontory  is  a  light- 
58 


The  Villa  Eugenie 

house.  From  the  east  side  the  view  is  still 
extensive,  but  is  shut  in  by  hills,  houses, 
and  some  gardens  in  the  distance. 


My  room  is  oblong,  neither  lofty  nor 
long  nor  wide  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  very  high  up.  It  is  covered  from  top 
to  bottom  with  an  imitation  perse  paper  with 
a  light  green  ground,  ornamented  with 
immense  bouquets  of  flowers  of  all  colours  ; 
the  borders  are  emphasised  by  strips  of 
mahogany.  The  window  curtains  and  bed- 
hangings,  the  counterpane  and  the  uphol- 
stery of  the  room  are  all  of  perse,  of  the 
same  design  as  the  paper.  The  furniture  is 
of  mahogany,  simple  but  handsome  enough. 
Everything  is  new,  like  the  rest  of  the  villa, 
which  is  inhabited  for  the  first  time.  On 
entering  the  room  the  wardrobe  is  to  the 
left  of  the  door  ;  then  the  fireplace,  in  white 
marble,  of  a  Louis  XV.  design,  but  quite 
simple  ;  it  would  delight  my  dear  Octavie. 
On  the  mantel  is  a  clock,  a  simple  block  of 

59 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

green  marble  with  a  very  large  dial.  On 
either  side  two  great  gilt  candlesticks ; 
beyond  the  fireplace,  a  cupboard ;  on  the 
other  side,  beside  the  window,  a  small  table. 
To  the  right  of  the  door  is  a  large  looking- 
glass,  swinging  in  every  direction ;  the 
toilet-set  is  in  fine  Sevres  china  with  a 
simple  thread  of  gold.  The  wash-hand 
basin  is  big  enough  to  take  a  bath  in  (well, 
perhaps  this  is  an  exaggeration).  The  jug 
holds  a  bucketful  of  water.  Then,  round 
the  corner,  is  the  bed  ;  wide  and  high  off 
the  ground,  downy,  and  delightful  to  lie  in. 
Then  the  writing-desk,  fitted  with  paper  of 
all  sorts,  quills  and  steel  pens,  sealing-wax, 
pounce,!  pin-cushion,  pins,  taper,  time-table 

'  Readers  of  the  younger  generation  may  not  know 
that  pounce — a  sort  of  fine  dust  or  powder — is  and  was 
used  as  an  absorbent  of  superfluous  ink  in  place  of 
blotting-paper  ;  it  was  shaken  over  the  paper  from  a 
sort  of  pepper-pot — the  pounce-box — and  after  a  few 
moments  shaken  off  again.  Hence  the  speckled 
appearance  of  old  letters.  It  is  a  messy  process  ;  some 
continental  post-offices,  which  a  few  years  ago  still 
used  pounce,  were  always  grimy  with  the  spilt  dust. 
60 


The  Doctor's  Room 

of  the  posts,  etc.  .  .  .If  to  all  this  you 
add  two  Pompadour  armchairs,  two  perfectly 
cushioned  ordinary  chairs,  and  over  all  the 
clean  smell  of  new  things,  you  will  have  an 
idea  of  the  room  I  am  using. 

Having  made  the  tour  of  the  room  to  the 
right  and  the  left  of  the  door,  I  end  with 
the  window.  There,  dear  wife,  I  spend 
some  pleasant  moments  every  day  ;  I  have 
not  been  given  the  best  view  of  the  villa, 
but  it  is  certainly  the  one  that  I  prefer.  My 
window  looks  to  the  north,  which  means 
that  my  thoughts  fly  overland  in  a  straight 
line  to  Langrune.  When  I  am  awakened 
by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  which  shines  gaily 
into  the  room,  and  open  my  window  to 
breathe  the  morning  air,  it  seems  to  me  that 
Langrune  is  there  ;  I  picture  to  myself  the 
room  of  my  dear  little  wife,  whose  window, 
turning  to  the  south,  looks  towards  mine, 
and  I  bid  her  a  distant  good-morning. 


Now,  my  dearest,  here  is  the  life  I  lead 

6i 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

down  here.  Listen  well,  all  of  you,  big  and 
little  ;  this  is  instructive,  and  will  teach  you 
how  a  man  who  is  thought  to  be  intelligent 
contrives  to  do  nothing  at  all  from  morning 
till  night,  keeping  his  intelligence  in  repose 
for  fear  he  should  use  it. 

In  the  morning  I  wake  between  six  and 
seven  o'clock.  I  lie  in  bed  a  while,  then 
I  rise,  open  my  window,  smile  at  the  rising 
sun,  which  comes  up  to  one  side  of  me,  and 
fill  my  lungs  full  of  the  fresh  pure  air  ;  I 
think  of  God,  who  makes  me  see  and  feel 
all  these  lovely  things  ;  and  I  think  hard 
too,  for  a  little,  of  Langrune  and  certain 
of  its  inhabitants ;  I  look  to  see  if  my 
beautiful  cliffs  are  in  the  same  place ;  I 
look  over  the  sea  ;  I  search  the  horizon  for 
sails,  and  look  down  to  see  if  the  gardeners 
are  at  work  in  the  garden,  and  having  given 
sufficient  time  to  these  interesting  occupa- 
tions,   I   begin   my   toilet. 

This  I  make  slowly,  deliberately,  com- 
prehensively, minutely,  like  a  man  who  has 
his  time  to  himself ;  however,  I  do  not 
62 


Life  at  the  Chateau 

dawdle,  for  I  do  not  want  to  imitate 
Christine,  who  stops  in  the  middle  of  comb- 
ing her  hair  to  watch  a  passing  fly.  I  go 
ahead  all  the  time,  but  very  gradually  and 
thoroughly.  I  shave  every  day,  my  beard 
grows  so  quickly  !  It  would  be  terrible 
if  I  allowed  it  a  few  hours  of  life  too  much  ! 
One  of  the  important  questions  I  have  to 
decide  is  whether  I  will  make  use  of  almond 
paste  or  soap.  I  finally  decide,  after  long 
consideration  and  a  great  consultation  with 
myself,  that  I  will  use  the  paste  this  morn- 
ing (it  is  brown  and  of  poor  quality)  and 
that  I  will  reserve  the  soap,  which  is  good 
and  agreeably  scented,  for  the  evening. 

My  toilet  completed,  it  is  about  eight 
o'clock  ;  I  write  or  read  till  my  early  break- 
fast is  brought  to  me ;  it  is  tea,  with 
excellent  butter  ;  the  service  of  fine  white 
Sevres  decorated  with  gilt  and  the  Imperial 
arms. 

Then  I  go  out  into  the  park,  where  I  find 
the  Prince,  and  this  is  my  morning  visit 
to  him.     Then  I  install  myself  on  the  clifif- 

63 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

top,  where  I  smoke  a  cigar,  enjoying  the 
beautiful  panorama  unrolled  before  my  eyes, 
and  the  charming  effects  of  the  rays  of  the 
mounting  sun  as  they  light  up  the  rocks,  the 
sea,  and  the  town.  Then  I  sit  down  and 
try  to  read  a  few  pages  of  "  The  Last  Days 
of  Pompeii."  .  .  .  On  the  cliff -top  I  have 
yet  another  source  of  amusement :  the 
anxiety,  trouble,  and  torment  which  I  cause 
to  all  the  guards,  gendarmes,  and  police 
agents  of  the  country.  This  unfortunate 
park  is  open  to  all  comers,  and  can  be 
entered  from  all  directions  with  the  greatest 
ease.  As  they  are  afraid  of  attempted 
violence,  and  very  naturally  so,  the  estate  is 
surrounded  by  a  host  of  agents  with  or  with- 
out uniform,  who  examine  all  who  enter  or 
leave  and  follow  the  Emperor  and  the  Prince 
in  all  their  walks  at  a  distance  and  un- 
observed. The  part  I  have  chosen  for  my 
retreat,  which  is  the  highest,  the  most 
distant,  and  the  most  solitary  of  all,  is  also 
one  of  those  by  which  the  park  can  be  most 
readily  entered  ;  but  as  the  inhabitants  of 
64 


Teasing  the  Police 

the  villa  hardly  ever  go  there  the  watchers 
usually  content  themselves  by  overlooking 
it  from  a  distance.  When  I  am  quietly 
sitting  there  I  am  too  far  from  those  down 
below  to  be  recognised.  You  should  see 
the  desperate  signs  which  the  agents  make 
to  me  from  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  to  order 
me  to  be  off  !  My  impassive  manner  upsets 
them  altogether ;  then  an  agent  comes  all 
the  way  round,  very  stealthily,  and  creeps 
up  behind  me.  Of  course  I  do  not  hear 
him ;  I  let  him  approach ;  then  I  turn 
about,  all  astonishment  at  being  interrupted 
in  my  work.  Then  he  recognises  me,  and 
sweeps  his   hat  off  as  he  apologises. 

When  I  have  been  long  enough  there  I 
return  to  my  room,  where  I  read,  write,  or 
work  according  to  the  mood  of  the  moment, 
until  noon,  the  lunch-hour.  A  good  table, 
well  served ;  all  the  courses  are  set  on  the 
table  at  once.  I  usually  sit  at  one  end,  so 
that  I  can  see  every  one  at  a  glance ; 
notably  their  Majesties.  After  the  meal, 
which  does  not  take  long,  we  go  into  the 
E  65 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

drawing-room,  chat,  and  arrange  amuse- 
ments for  the  rest  of  the  day.  I  do  not  as 
a  rule  stay  long .  I  like  my,  liberty  ;  what  I 
want  to  manage  is  to  be  able  to  come  and  go 
with  their  Majesties  as  I  like  ;  and  hitherto 
I  have  succeeded.  Sometimes  I  pass  the 
heat  of  the  day  in  taking  a  siesta  ;  sometimes 
I  read  English,  or  write  ;  then  I  go  out  and 
visit  the  town  and  the  neighbourhood,  or 
accompany  their  Majesties  on  their  walks. 
Thus  on  Sunday  we  all  went  to  visit  the  foot 
of  the  cliffs  that  I  see  from  my  room,  which 
are  washed  by  the  sea  at  high  tide.  Next 
day  we  went  to  sea  in  the  boats  of  two 
vessels  which  His  Majesty  had  despatched 
hither  from  Brest — I  believe  for  the  pleasure 
of  his  better  half. 

Well,  in  one  way  or  another  the  day 
always  passes,  and  dinner-time  arrives.  I 
make  a  second  toilet,  and  like  all  the  rest 
put  on  my  best  clothes — black  coat,  white 
tie,  and  thin  shoes.  Their  Majesties  are  in 
full  dress  also,  the  Emperor  wearing  part 
of  his  decorations,  the  Empress  having  a 
66 


DK.    liAKTHEZ. 


To  face  p.  66. 


The  Doctor's  Day 

new  dress  every  day,  at  all  events  so  far. 
After  dinner  we  talk  in  the  saloriy  laugh  a 
good  deal — and  already  we  have  had  a  ball. 
I  stop  a  shorter  or  longer  time  as  I  please, 
then  I  retire  to  read  my  letters,  smoke  my 
cigar,  go  to  bed,  and  sleep  until  next  day. 
Such  is  my  life. 


67 


X 

23  August,  1856 

To-day,  for  the  first  time,  I  had  a  private 
interview  with  the  Emperor.  Before  dinner 
the  Empress  had  suddenly  addressed  me, 
holding  out  her  pretty— I  should  say  her 
beautiful— arm  and  inquiring  of  me  whether 
she  was  feverish— she  wasn't  in  the  least — 
and  adding  that  she  felt  a  trifle  uncomfort- 
able, but  had  plenty  of  appetite  and  a 
very  empty  stomach.  I  advised  her  to  eat 
a  good  dinner. 

After  the  meal  the  Emperor  signed  to 
me  to  go  and  speak  to  him,  and  we  spent 
some  ten  minutes  walking  on  the  terrace. 
He  spoke  to  me  of  the  Empress's  health, 
and  asked  my  advice  as  to  the  reasons  for 
discontinuing  sea-bathing  at  the  present 
juncture.  .  .  .  From  this  the  Emperor 
68 


A  Cheerful   Surgeon 

went  on  to  speak  of  the  dentition  of  the 
Prince  Imperial,  and  seemed  astonished  to 
learn  that  teething  may  continue  till  the 
age  of  two  and  a  half  and  even  longer. 
Then,  after  a  few  words  concerning  the  pro- 
gress of  the  child's  teeth,  His  Majesty  spoke 
about  teeth  in  general,  and  of  American 
dentists  and  surgeons,  praising  the  skill  and 
science  of  the  former — whence  the  habitual 
preservation  of  the  teeth  in  America,  while 
French  dentists,  being  more  often  than  not 
mere  charlatans,  cannot  obtain  such  a 
result ;  he  added  that  on  the  contrary  the 
American  surgeons  were  ignorant,  and  in 
this  connection  told  me  that  at  the  time  of 
his  arrival  in  America  he  was  attacked  by 
a  toothache,  with  an  inflamed  swelling, 
which  necessitated  the  removal  of  a  tooth  ; 
the  result  was  a  haemorrhage,  which 
necessitated  the  calling  in  of  a  surgeon,  who 
declared  that  he  really  did  not  know  how 
to  arrest  this  flow  of  blood,  adding  that 
death  might  follow  within  a  very  short  time. 
However,    the    bleeding    was    arrested    by 

69 


Empress   Eugenie  and   her  Circle 

cauterisation,  but  the  surgeon  judged  it 
advisable  to  keep  on  calling  every  day  for 
a  long  time  afterwards  in  order  to  lance 
the  gums,  until  the  Emperor  decided  to  tell 
him  not  to  come  again. 

After  a  few  words  on  the  structure  of  the 
teeth,  His  Majesty  expressed  his  surprise 
that  Nature  has  not  provided  for  the  replace- 
ment of  the  teeth  when  lost,  seeing  that  she 
provides  so  abundantly  for  the  reproduction 
of  horns  and  antlers.  "  For  instance,"  he 
said,  "  the  deer  in  the  park  at  Saint-Cloud 
lose  their  antlers  every  year,  and  every  year 
the  place  from  which  they  grew  is  subject 
to  a  process  of  heat  and  activity  until  the 
completion  of  the  growth  of  the  new  antler, 
which  hardens  into  horn  and  falls  anew." 
I  remarked  to  his  Majesty  that  teeth  and 
horns  are  only  very  remotely  connected  ;  the 
latter  are  much  more  akin  to  the  skin  and 
the  hair  than  to  the  teeth,  which  seemed 
greatly   to   surprise   His   Majesty. 


70 


XI 

8  September,  1856 

.  .  .  Their  Majesties  take  outdoor  exercise 
almost  every  day,  in  one  direction  or 
another,  far  or  near,  on  foot  or  driving,  and 
I  go  too  or  do  not  go,  according  to  the  mood 
of  the  moment ;  one  never  knows  before- 
hand where  one  is  going,  the  Emperor 
usually  saying  :  "  Let  us  be  off  !  "  and  they 
are  off.  You  should  be  satisfied  with  this 
account  of  our  outings,  which  is  in  answer 
to  your  wishes ;  it  is  precisely  what  you 
wanted  to  know,  and  you  ask  nothing  more. 
So  we  are  both  content,  and  I  will  end  here. 
Come,  come  !  I  thought  I  had  filled  my 
four  pages,  and  here  is  a  last  page  quite 
blank  ;  so  I  will  squeeze  my  lines  together 
in  order  to  gossip  a  little  longer  with  my 
big   Sophie.      What  shall    I    tell   her?    .    .    . 

71 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Ah,  we  were  talking  about  our  outings. 

Well,  then  !  We  did  go  to  Bayonne,  but 
not  to  visit  the  citadel,  as  you  were  wrongly 
informed.  As  a  rule  on  these  excursions 
the  Emperor  is  with  his  amiable  consort  in 
the  first  conveyance,  and  drives  himself.  He 
takes  the  first  road  he  comes  across,  good 
or  bad,  and  goes  ahead  as  a  scout.  When 
he  no  longer  knows  where  he  is  he  asks  the 
first  urchin  he  meets  with  in  what  part  of 
his  Empire  he  is.  The  boy,  who  does  not 
speak  anything  but  Basque,  does  not  under- 
stand, and  remains  gaping ;  so  the  Emperor 
sets  off  again,  always  at  random,  and  gets 
us  back  for  dinner  between  seven  and  half- 
past  eight.  On  the  day  you  speak  of  we 
were  making  for  Bayonne,  and  took  a  multi- 
tude of  winding  roads  in  order  to  reach 
Boucan,  the  last  railway  station  before 
Bayonne,  on  the  banks  of  the  Adour.  There 
we  set  foot  on  the  ground  again  and  made 
off  across  the  sands  in  the  piniada.  .  .  . 
Ah,  papa,  papa,  not  so  fast !  What  is  a 
piniada?  Why,  my  daughter,  if  you  stop 
72 


Excursions 

like  that  at  every  fence  my  paper  will  be 
filled  before  the  end  of  my  excursion.  You 
must  see  that  I  am  saving  my  paper.  I  am 
not  wandering  much  from  the  path,  I  do 
not  turn  aside,  I  do  not  stop  on  the  road,  I 
am  wasting  neither  my  time  nor  my  paper, 
and  you  stop  me  like  that,  all  of  a  sudden 
and  without  warning  1  What  is  a  piniada  ? 
It  is  hardly  worth  stopping  for.  It  is  a 
forest  of  pines  ...  in  cultivation  for  the 
turpentine  harvest.  At  least,  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  last  condition  is  indispensable  ; 
it  may  be  it  is  simply  a  pine-forest,  cultivated 
or  otherwise. 


As  a  result  of  walking  through  the 
piniada,  we  reached  the  end  of  it  and  the 
brink  of  the  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Adour, 
in  sight  of  the  bar,  and  not  far  from  the 
jetty.  .  .  .  But  really,  papa,  what  does  all 
this  mean?  I  don't  understand  a  word. 
...  All  these  things  are  very  interesting, 
my  dear  child,  and  I  have  seen  them  with 


Empress  Eugenie  and   her   Circle 

much  enjoyment.  But  if  I  stop  to  explain 
them  the  Emperor's  outing  will  be  much 
too  long,  his  dinner  will  get  cold,  and  it  is 
getting  late  and  time  to  return.  If  you  are 
very  anxious  you  can  ask  more  questions 
about  it  for  me  to  answer  in  the  next  letter. 
So  after  walking  to  and  fro  on  the  jetty 
and  admiring  the  waves  which  are  thrown  up 
by  the  bar  (that  is,  the  heap  of  shifting  sands 
which  lies  at  the  entrance  to  the  river  and 
makes  it  so  difficult  to  land),  we  returned  to 
Boucan,  two  hours  and  a  half  or  three  hours 
after  leaving  it ;  a  long  excursion,  as  you 
see,  which  their  Majesties  managed  perfectly 
well.  This  shows  you  they  have  legs  and 
feet  just  like  you  and  I,  which  you  might 
have  doubted,  as  they  are  Emperor  and 
Empress  :  for  you  might  not  know  that  they, 
are  made  like  other  people.  Finally  we  got 
into  our  carriages  again  and  went  through 
Bayonne  once  more,  which  during  our  drive 
had  decked  itself  out  to  receive  us,  and 
greeted  us  with  frantic  hurrahs  ;  and  then 
we  returned  at  full  speed  to  the  villa,  which 
74 


A  Kind  Heart 

we  didn't  reach  till  after  eight,  and  it  was 
all  your  fault  for  having  made  me  stop  on 
the  way  so  many  times. 

Well,  let  me  see,  are  those  all  your  ques- 
tions? No?  .  .  .  The  Empress  walks  on 
the  beach  in  a  white  dress  after  bathing- 
yes,  she  does  sometimes. 

The  other  day  I  had  gone  to  Bayonne  for 
my  own  amusement,  and  on  my  return  I 
was  told  :  "  Go  quickly  to  the  Empress  in 
her  bathing-machine ;  she  is  asking  for 
you  !  "  Was  the  Empress  hurt — was  she 
feeling  ill  ?  Good  God,  didn't  I  run  !  and 
I  soon  reached  the  water's  edge  and  Her 
Majesty's  tent.  I  was  shown  in  ;  I  found 
Her  Majesty  with  her  two  ladies-in-waiting  in 
the  simplest  of  bathing  dresses,  laughing  at 
the  top  of  their  voices.  "  Good  !  "  I  said  to 
myself,  "no  one  is  dead  here."  Her  Majesty 
told  me,  "  Don't  look  at  us,  Doctor  I  "  (but 
that  I  had  done  long  ago).  "  Madame,  it 
would  not  matter  if  I  did,"  I  replied  to  Her 
Majesty,  who  began  to  laugh  again,  and 
asked  me  to   see   to  a  sick  child  she  had 

75 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

picked  up  on  the  road.  She  made  me 
examine  it  then  and  there,  and  the  prescrip- 
tion was  made  up  at  Her  Majesty's  expense. 
On  leaving  we  took  one  of  those  walks  of 
which  you  have  spoken,  passing  by  the 
pierced  rock,  by  the  old  port,  and  returning 
not  far  from  the  Basque  shore,  with  no  other 
escort  than  two  or  three  persons  of  the 
household,  wearing  round  bonnets  like  your 
father,  with  muddy  shoes  and  old  trousers. 

Yesterday  evening  we  went  with  the 
Emperor  only  to  look  at  the  bar  again ;  we 
went  on  the  jetty  the  other  side  of  the  Adour. 
The  wind  was  high,  the  sea  furious,  and  the 
waves  broke  one  after  another,  huge  and 
roaring.  We  took  a  boat  from  the  Pelican 
and  went  up  the  Adour,  part  of  the  time 
sailing,  part  of  the  time  rowing,  and  returned 
very  late.  The  Empress  thought  we  were 
all  killed.  .  ,  .  There  was  a  great  ball  at 
eight  o'clock ;  we  did  not  finish  dinner  till 
nine ;  there  was  a  great  deal  of  dancing, 
but  I  refrained ;  at  ten  I  went  to  bed ;  at 
eleven  I  was  asleep,  and  in  the  morning  I 

76 


More  Excursions 

have  beg^n  this  letter,  which  you  have  made 
me  make  such  a  length  that  I  was  not  able 
to  finish  it  before  my  visit  to  the  Abb6 
Gestae.   .    .  . 


n 


XII 

5-12  September,  1856 

Honour  to  the  noble.  I  am  going,  my 
dear  Octavie,  to  begin  a  series  of  portraits 
by  that  of  the  Emperor.  It  is  no  slight 
matter  to  depict  such  a  man  as 
Napoleon    III.   .    .  . 

I  see  him  here  from  a  very  restricted  point 
of  view  :  I  am  the  witness  of  a  small  por- 
tion of  his  private  life  :  this  is  all  I  shall 
try  to  paint.  When  a  model  is  posing  in 
a  studio,  and  the  students  round  about  him 
try  to  represent  what  they  see,  each  can 
reproduce  only  a  portion  of  the  model,  an 
aspect  which  is  not  that  which  the  others 
see,  and  no  one  sees  him  or  can  represent 
him  as  a  whole.  I  am  one  of  these  students, 
sitting  a  very,  very  long  way  off,  and  seeing 
only  a  very  small  part  of  the  man  ;    and  it 

78 


A  Portrait  of  Napoleon 

is  this  which  I  wish  to  draw  for  you.  I 
shall  try  to  make  my  picture  exact,  but  do 
not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  whole 
man  will  be  there. 

Then  in  an  intimate  letter  I  improvise 
as  I  go  along  ;  I  do  not  arrange  my  matter  ; 
I  let  my  pen  run  on  with  all  its  negligences, 
its  imperfections,  its  lack  of  order.  I  shall 
make  no  corrections. 

Why  this  long  preface?  you  ask  me. 
Between  us  two  there  is  no  need  for  me  to 
justify  myself  as  I  should  need  to  do  were 
this  intended  for  the  public.  Then  why? 
Perhaps  to  justify  myself  in  my  own  eyes 
for  having  ventured  to  undertake  such  a 
task,  and  to  account  to  myself  for  the  im- 
perfections of  the  result.  To  justify  is  not 
the  word  :  it  is  so  that  I  should  not  deceive 
myself  as  to  the  value  of  my  portrait ;  so 
that  I  shall  not  imagine  that  I  can  either 
know  or  depict  the  man  completely,  the 
sovereign  who  has  attached  me  to  his 
person,  and  to  whom  I  become  daily  more 
attached. 

79 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

I  go  on  and  on  and  don't  begin,  and  I  am 
commencing  to  understand  the  length  of  my 
preamble  ;  I  am  spinning  out  the  beginning 
simply  because  the  matter  is  difficult,  and 
because  I  am  hoping  that  while  I  am 
chattering  my  ideas  will  finally  take  shape. 

The  Emperor  is  a  small  man ;  his  face  is 
long  and  strongly  marked,  the  shoulders 
wide  and  rather  sloping^  the  body  powerful, 
the  lower  limbs  very  short.  This  dispro- 
portion, especially  noticeable  when  His 
Majesty  is  standing,  is  increased  by  the  long 
goatee,  which  every  one  knows,  and  which 
makes  his  face  look  still  longer.  As  a  rule 
the  Emperor  walks  slowly,  his  toes  turned 
out,  his  body  leaning  to  the  left,  or  more 
rarely  to  the  right.  When  he  wishes  to 
walk  quickly  or  to  run  he  makes  great  play 
with  his  arms  and  shoulders,  as  if  to  assist 
his  short  legs.  When  he  stands  his  head  is 
scarcely  ever  straight  on  his  shoulders.  It 
is  turned  either  to  right  or  left,  so  that  he 
always  looks  more  or  less  sideways. 

His  forehead  is  high,  wide,  bare  at  the 
80 


THK    KMI'EKOK   NAl'oI.KON    III. 
From  an  engraving  of  the  fcvliait  by  Cahiiiicl. 


A  Portrait  of  Napoleon 

temples,  and  well  developed.  His  eyes  are 
small,  of  a  light  blue,  and  slightly  veiled  ; 
they  have  a  perpetual  smiling  and  kindly 
expression.  At  other  times,  but  more 
rarely,  they  have  a  dull,  staring  look  which 
is  rather  peculiar.  The  nose  is  large  and 
prominent,  with  thick,  wide  nostrils,  sensual 
and  very  mobile.  The  superior  muscles  of 
the  neck  are  thick  and  strong  and  prominent 
behind  the  jaws.  This  produces  a  some- 
what ungraceful  effect,  which  is  not  shown 
on  the  coinage.  The  effect  is  this :  the 
lower  part  of  the  head  is  much  wider  than 
the  upper,  and  as  the  hair  on  the  latter  is  not 
plentiful  the  top  of  the  head  seems  flattened, 
and  the  skull  ill-developed  at  this  point.  All 
this,  I  own,  is  not  a  flattering  portrait.  But 
the  evident  disproportion  of  the  head  and 
body  is  so  great  that  it  attracts  attention. 
Is  this  because  of  the  singular  contrasts  I 
have  tried  to  paint,  or  because  the  sight  of 
the  man  recalls  the  services  he  has  rendered 
France  and  the  great  things  he  has  done? 
I  do  not  know.  However,  I  must  admit  that 
F  8i 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

in  himself  he  pleases  and  attracts  ;  for  one 
thing  I  can  affirm— that  here  the  habitual 
expression  of  his  face  is  smiling,  benevolent, 
kindly,  and  gentle  ;  often  with  a  look  of 
the  frankest  gaiety,  sometimes  with  an  air 
of  gentle  and  malicious  irony,  especially 
when  he  is  with  the  Empress.  He  is  like 
that  with  all  the  members  of  the  household, 
who  rarely  have  important  or  serious  con- 
versations with  him  in  public.  But  directly 
he  meets  in  the  salon  men  who  can  discuss 
with  him  the  interests  of  the  little  country 
we  live  in  or  of  any  other  locality  his  face 
becomes  serious  and  keenly  interrogative ; 
he  listens  to  what  is  said,  even  to  opinions 
with  very  little  foundation,  with  attention 
and  wonderful  patience,  and  he  seems  to 
remember  everything  ;  he  will  then  speak, 
at  much  length,  and  seriously ;  however,  he 
readily  gives  explanations,  raises  objections, 
and  seeks  to  be  informed.  In  all  the  excur- 
sions we  have  made  he  inquires  into  the 
needs  of  the  locality  and  what  could  be  done 
for  the  good  of  the  country. 
82 


The  Emperor's  Occupations 

Here  he  is  much  occupied  with  the 
problem  of  making  something  grow  on  the 
sandhills  he  has  bought  with  a  view  to 
making  a  park.  He  spends  a  great  deal  of 
money  in  having  pines  and  tamarisks 
planted,  in  protecting  them  against  the  sand 
and  the  sea  breeze,  in  consolidating  the 
sandy  soil,  in  which  the  first  tempest  may 
dig  great  ravines,  and  in  planting  turf  which 
refuses  to  grow.  The  future  will  tell  us  the 
result  of  all  this.  I  conclude  from  this  that 
the  Emperor  likes  to  meet  difficulties,  and 
to   overcome   them. 

The  Emperor  works  every  day,  with  his 
secretary,  before  and  after  lunch.  What 
does  he  work  at?  I  do  not  know.  It  is 
probable  that  he  does  not  lose  sight  of  the 
trend  of  affairs.  Thus  yesterday  he  showed 
us  the  plan  of  an  uncultivated  tract  of  land 
which  he  had  just  had  purchased  for  the 
installation  of  a  permanent  camp.  Also  he 
made  me  write  to  his  dictation  (by  chance 
there  was  no  one  at  hand  to  render  him  this 
service)  two  dispatches,  one  to  the  Minister 

83 


Empress  Eugenie  and   her  Circle 

of  the  Interior  in  reply  to  one  dealing  with 
administrative  matters,  the  other  to  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works  to  ask  for  a  list 
of  dwelling-houses  vacant  in  Paris. 

I  was  saying  just  now  that  the  Emperor  is 
rather  ironical  and  even  something  of  a 
tease.  He  gave  us  a  little  example  the  other 
night  at  dinner.  The  Empress  was  talking 
to  a  Spaniard  and  was  speaking  of  trees 
which  had  been  planted  at  the  time  of  her 
birth.  "  They  ought  to  be  tall  by  now,"  she 
said.  "  Why,  yes,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  they 
are  thirty-six  years  old."  "Wretch!" 
replied  the  Empress,  laughing,  who  is  not 
nearly  as  old  as  that. 

The  same  day  after  dinner  there  was  some 
talk  of  bull-fights.  As  a  Spanish  woman, 
the  Empress  has  a  frantic  affection  for  this 
kind  of  spectacle.  She  spoke  of  it  with  an 
animation  which  gave  quite  a  lyric  beauty 
to  her  face.  She  cited  the  names  of  famous 
toreadors  who  are  the  idols  of  the  women  of 
Madrid.  In  this  connection  some  one  men- 
tioned the  names  of  those  who  should  be 
84 


Chaffing  the  Empress 

here  for  the  coming  performances  at 
Bayonne.  "  But  I  do  not  know  them,"  she 
said ;  "I  have  never  heard  their  names  ; 
they  were  not  of  my  time  ;  where  were  they 
when  I  was  in  Spain  ?  "  "  At  the  breast," 
replied  the  Emperor,  with  the  greatest  calm- 
ness. The  Empress  turned  towards  him, 
only  half -comprehending  ;  then  suddenly, 
"  What  impudence  !  "  she  cried  in  a  serious 
tone,  but  so  comically  that  we  all  burst  out 
laughing. 

The  Emperor  is  greatly  attached  to  his 
wife  :  he  watches  her  at  times  with  an  ex- 
pression which  cannot  be  misunderstood.  It 
has  been  said— it  is  said  daily— that  he  is  not 
faithful  to  her.  I  have  no  means  of  affirm- 
ing or  denying  the  fact.  Certainly  I  can 
see  in  the  Emperor's  face  some  of  the  signs 
of  sensual  need.  I  can  easily  distinguish  by 
the  manner  in  which  he  touches  his  wife 
when  the  flesh  speaks  rather  than  the 
heart ;  but  all  the  same,  I  am  not  mis- 
taken in  asserting  that  he  has  a  real 
affection    for    her,    one   of    those    affections 

8s 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

of  the  heart  as  we  understand  it,  my  dear 
Octavie.i 

The  Emperor  is  kind  and  gentle,  although 
he  knows  perfectly  well  how  to  keep  people 
at  a  distance  when  need  be  ;    he  also  knows 

'  A  few  years  later  I  was  at  Saint-Cloud,  at  the 
chateau,  chatting  with  some  of  the  Emperor's  house- 
hold. This  question  cropped  up.  His  Majesty's 
infidelities  were  well  known  to  these  persons.  In  the 
middle  of  the  conversation  this  phrase  escaped  from 
my  lips  almost  unconsciously  :  "  When  a  man  has  a 
wife  as  charming  as  the  Empress,  I  do  not  under- 
stand his  going  elsewhere  in  search  of  pleasure." 
This  produced  a  momentary  chill,  and  after  the  first 
embarrassment  had  passed  :  "  Come,"  said  General 
Rolin,  "  Barthez  here  is  talking  politics."  And  with 
that  the  conversation  came  to  an  end. 

For  the  rest,  when  conversing  with  their  Majesties, 
I  never  hid  my  repugnance  for  the  custom  of  keeping 
mistresses  on  the  part  of  married  men,  and  hence  my 
firm  intention  of  being  faithful  to  my  wife.  It  was 
perhaps  because  their  Majesties  were  aware  of  my 
opinions  in  this  respect  that  I  became  the  hero  of  the 
following  adventure.  I  was  one  day  called  in  by  a 
lady  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  whom  I  did  not  know 
and  who  did  not  mention  the  name  of  any  patient  of 
mine.  I  found  her  stretched  on  her  bed  in  a  very 
provocative  toilette.  She  was  a  very  beautiful  young 
86 


A  Curious  Adventure 

how  to  win  their  attachment  by  a  host  of 
little  considerations,  insignificant  in  them- 
selves, but  meaning  much  coming  from  such 
a  source.  Thus  the  other  day,  as  I  was 
telling  Sophie,  the  Empress  was  bathing  and 

woman,  who  stated  that  she  was  the  wife  of  an  elderly 
foreign  admiral.  She  was  no  more  ill  than  I  was,  and 
contented  herself  with  conversing  with  me  in  a  manner 
that  proved  her  to  be  a  well-informed  and  intelligent 
woman.  She  prolonged  the  interview  by  changing 
from  subject  to  subject,  and  asked  me  to  call  again. 
I  did  not  quite  know  what  to  think  of  this  visit,  and 
although  somewhat  astonished  I  promised  to  repeat 
it ;  however,  an  envelope  lying  on  the  table  of  her 
salon  betrayed  the  fact  that  she  had  relations  with  the 
Imperial   chateau,   where    she    was    known    as   "  the 

beautiful  C ."     I  was  speaking  of  this  later  to  one  of 

Her  Majesty's  intimates,  who  knew  her.  Of  this  I  was 
sure,  because  it  was  his  name  that  was  on  the  said 
envelope.  He  blushed  and  stammered  without  giving 
me  a  direct  reply.  I  was  eventually  convinced  that 
Her  Majesty  wanted  to  test  the  solidity  of  my  virtue. 

She  must  have  laughed  heartily  if  the  fair  C told  her 

that  instead  of  making  love  to  her  I  had  held  forth 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  concerning  the 
excellent  education  which  the  Jesuits  give  their 
pupils.  In  any  case,  I  had  a  good  laugh  on  my 
side. 

87 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

sent  for  me ;  I  had  been  away  for  some 
hours,  and  the  fear  of  keeping  Her  Majesty- 
waiting  gave  me  wings,  and  I  was  running 
and  leaping  over  obstacles  in  order  to  reach 
her  the  sooner.  The  Emperor,  who  was 
on  the  terrace,  seeing  from  a  distance  the 
effort  I  was  making  to  save  time  and  space, 
shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice  :  "  Don't 
run  so  fast,  there  is  nothing  urgent,"  in 
order  to  save  me  a  trot  of  fifty  yards. 
Another  day  I  was  going  round  a  corner 
of  the  chateau,  and  was  about  to  light  a 
cigar,  when  I  met  the  Emperor.  I  un- 
covered and  put  my  cigar  away.  We  chatted 
a  moment;  then,  seeing  that  I  was  hiding 
my  cigar,  the  Emperor  told  me  I  might 
smoke,  holding  out  his  cigarette  while  I  lit 
my  cigar  at  it.  Our  life  is  full  of  these 
little  attentions,  which  make  intimacy  agree- 
able and  attach  one  to  the  man. 

There  is  often  a  ball  at  the  Villa  Eugenie. 
Then  a  little  more  ceremony  is  observed, 
and  their  Majesties  do  not  dance,  unless, 
perhaps,  just  at  the  end,  but  I  have  never 
88 


Relaxation 

remained  until  that  time.  However,  the 
Empress  is  very  fond  of  dancing,  and 
we  sometimes  make  up  for  this  lack  of 
movement,  due  to  the  etiquette  of  great 
occasions,  by  romping  among  ourselves  after 
lunch  or  dinner.  General  Ney  plays  the 
piano,  and  has  a  pretty  talent  for  it ;  we 
dance  the  quadrille,  the  boulangere,  and  the 
Carillon  de  Dunquerque,  which  is  the 
Empress's  delight.  I  shall  not  forget  the 
first  time  I  saw  the  Emperor  dance— step- 
ping out  valiantly,  leaping,  whirling,  ges- 
ticulating, romping,  and  playing  the  fool  like 
any  young  man.  It  was  curious  to  see  the 
"  go  "  and  joviality  of  the  man  who  holds  in 
his  powerful  hands  the  fate  of  France  and 
a  great  part  of  Europe.  That  same  even- 
ing there  was  singing  ;  the  Emperor  gave 
us  a  solo — "  Do  you  remember,  soldier — 
say?"  {Dls-moi,  soldat,  ten  souviens-tu?). 
He  sang  it  in  French  and  in  German. 
He  sings  scarcely  worse  than  I  do,  and 
knows  his  merits  in  that  respect.  It  was, 
I   can  assure  you,  highly  amusing. 

89 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

At  other  times  there  is  reading  at  night, 
just  as  there  might  be  at  home  with  us. 
The  Emperor  reads  aloud  for  the  whole 
company,  and  often  the  book  is  the  most 
tedious  and  badly  written  stuff  you  can 
imagine.  It  is  a  trial  to  all  of  us.  People 
yawn,  openly  sleep,  and  are  bored.  The 
Emperor  appreciates  the  book  at  its  true 
worth  ;  he  is  a  bit  of  a  tease,  and  perseveres 
just  the  same  ;  he  is  pitiless,  reads  on  and 
on,  interpolating  what  he  reads  with  non- 
sense and  cock-and-bull  stories,  with  ridi- 
culous intonations  or  false  declamation ; 
finally,  reading  atrociously  and  swallowing 
half  his  words,  he  passes  the  book  to  some 
one  else,  who  methodically  reads  one  line 
in  three,  so  that  the  reading  has  neither 
head  nor  tail ;  no  one  can  make  anything  of 
it ;  during  all  this  the  Empress  embroiders, 
knits,  yawns,  and — sleep  at  last  overpower- 
ing her— salutes  us  and  goes  to  bed. 

The  Emperor  is  not  artistic  ...  he 
knows  nothing  of  painting  and  scarcely  cares 
for  it.  He  praises  Horace  Vernet,  Meis- 
90 


The  Emperor  at  Home 

sonier,  and  Rosa  Bonheur.  He  appreciates 
no  one  else.  Above  all  he  detests  Decamps, 
whom  we  all  admire  so.  "  There  are,"  he 
says,  "  beauties  of  convention  and  natural 
beauties  :  I  do  not  like  the  beauties  of  con- 
vention !  "  This  is  hardly  artistic,  but  it 
must  be  admitted  that  there  is  some  truth 
in  this  feeling.  The  other  evening  some 
one  was  speaking  of  a  hunting-scene  which 
is,  I  think,  in  the  Louvre.  "  Ah,  yes  I  " 
he  said,  "  I  know  which  it  is ;  it  is  a 
picture  in  which  you  can  see  nothing  but 
dogs'  tails  and  hunting  horns ;  and  you 
can't  tell  one  from  the  other  because  they 
are  both  curly  1  " 

Do  not  forget  that  what  I  have  told  you 
does  not  represent  the  whole  man.  The 
Emperor  has  come  here  to  rest.  He  lives 
with  a  few  familiar  friends,  without  etiquette. 
He  strolls  on  the  sea -front  arm-in-arm  with 
his  wife,  like  a  simple  merchant.  Here 
practically  nothing  of  the  Emperor  is  left ; 
nothing  but  goodwill,  which  he  radiates  all 
around    him ;     nothing    but    curiosity    and 

91 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

affectionate  respect  are  painted  on  the 
faces  of  most  of  those  who  pass  him  out 
of  doors.  It  is  obvious  that  he  is  much 
loved  here  and  at  Bayonne.  This  soothes 
me  somewhat  when  I  think  of  the  infamous 
statements  and  the  falsehoods  I  have  heard 
uttered  in  so  many  of  the  salons  of  Paris. 


92 


XIII 

19  September,  1856 

Yesterday  we  paid  a  visit  to  MM.  the 
Bulls,  who  had  arrived  the  day  before,  to 
the  number  of  fourteen.  Six  will  be  killed 
at  each  performance,  two  being  in  case  of 
emergencies.  They  are  not  very  large,  but 
well  knit,  and  very  strong.  It  is  said  that 
they  are  vicious ;  but  to  see  them  in  the 
pasture  with  their  keepers,  who  do  not  leave 
them  night  or  day,  you  would  think  they 
were  gentle  enough.  Can  you  realise  the 
life  of  these  bull-breeders?  They  never 
leave  their  mountains  nor  their  pastures, 
they  sleep  in  the  open  in  the  midst  of  their 
beasts,  they  do  not  know  what  a  house  is, 
nor  a  cabin  even,  nor  a  bed,  nor  a  table, 
having  never  made  use  of  such  things  ! 
What  is  even  more  singular  is  the  way  in 

,93 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

which  they  drive  their  bulls.  Oxen  are  used 
for  this  purpose,  and  with  them  they  can 
do  as  they  please  with  the  bulls.  As  soon 
as  a  bull  sees  an  ox  he  goes  and  stands 
beside  it,  and  follows  as  gently  as  a  sheep. 
•We  had  an  amusing  example  of  this  last 
Sunday.  At  Bayonne  a  miniature  bull -fight 
was  given  ;  all  the  same,  they  killed  four 
bulls.  A  fifth  managed  to  avoid  death  by 
the  most  singular  behaviour.  Instead  of 
getting  angry  when  teased,  he  ran  away,  and 
the  red  and  yellow  cloaks,  instead  of  excit- 
ing his  fury,  made  him  flee  the  faster.  It 
was  a  bull -fight  the  wrong  way  round.  The 
Emperor  did  not  wish  him  to  be  killed  :  he 
did  not  deserve  the  sword.  But  it  was 
necessary  to  get  him  to  go  back  to  his  den  ; 
so  an  ox  was  sent  for,  which  entered  slowly, 
and  with  measured  paces  came  as  far  as 
the  centre  of  the  ring,  Immediately  Master 
Bull  went  to  its  side,  and  so  the  ox  led 
him  to  his  shed.  The  power  of  the  ox  is 
so  great  in  this  respect  that  its  horns  have 
to  be  blunted  lest  it  should  wound  the  bull. 
94 


A  Bull-fight 


•When  the  latter  does  not  do  as  his  mentor 
wishes,  the  other  simply  gives  him  a  dig 
with  its  horns,  which  the  bull  takes  good 
care  not  to  return. 

Another  episode  of  the  bull-fight  on 
Sunday  greatly  amused  me.  A  bull  was 
driven  into  the  ring  with  his  horns  very 
carefully  padded,  and  an  amateur  bull -fight 
was  announced.  Immediately  all  the  urchins 
of  the  country  threw  themselves  into  the 
arena,  teasing  the  bull  in  every  imaginable 
way ;  the  bull  rushing  right  and  left,  and 
now  and  then  catching  one  of  his  tor- 
mentors, buffeting  him  and  knocking  him 
upside  down  with  his  horns. ' 

'  I  was  once  present  at  a  so-called  Landaise  bull- 
fight. A  cow  whose  horns  are  armed  with  knobs  is 
turned  out  for  the  amusement  of  the  lads.  In  the 
arena  are  cylinders  of  basket-work  in  the  form  of 
barrels  open  at  both  ends.  When  one  of  the  lads  is 
pressed  rather  too  closely  by  the  tormented  cow  he 
crawls  into  the  basket,  which  the  cow  rolls  over  and 
over  with  her  horns.  It  is  very  amusing  to  see  the 
rascal  tossed  and  charged  as  he  lies  in  his  basket, 
rolling  in  safety  from  one  end  of  the  arena  to  the 
other. 

95 


XIV 

22  September,  1856 

I  DID  not  make  the  journey  to  San 
Sebastien,  much  to  my  disappointment.  The 
Empress,  who  is  never  seasick,  was  anxious 
that  all  those  who  accompanied  her  should 
be  immune  from  this  complaint.  She  wished 
to  avoid  the  far  from  graceful  spectacle  of 
sick  persons,  which  is  very  natural.  So  I 
had  to  be  eliminated,  but,  in  spite  of  that, 
the  sea  was  rough  enough  to  upset  the 
steadiest.  However,  the  party  was  a  very 
pleasant  one. 

I  have  not  been  to  Bidache  either.  'Her 
Majesty  had  invited  so  many  people  that 
there  was  not  room  in  the  carriages.  As  I 
have  no  official  rank,  and  am  the  last  to 
join  the  Imperial  circle,  I  found  I  came 
last  in  this  respect,  and  had  to  give  up  my 

96 


Drawbacks  of  High  Society 

place.  This  is  one  of  the  drawbacks  (little 
enough  to  my  thinking)  of  living  with 
people  of  a  higher  rank.  At  home  I  am 
the  master,  and  am  accustomed  to  give 
orders  (I  hope  I  do  not  use  too  much 
severity)  ;  when  I  am  at  the  hospital  I  am 
master  and  I  rule  ;  but  here  I  am  no  one, 
and  do  not  count,  or  very  little.  It  does 
no  one  any  harm  to  feel  his  inferiority  some- 
times ;  and,  after  all,  what  is  there  to  com- 
plain of?  Their  Majesties  did  not  send  for 
me  for  the  pleasure  of  my  society,  which  is, 
down  here,  uninteresting  enough ;  nor  to 
prefer  me  before  their  private  friends  in  the 
pleasures  they  indulge  in.  I  ought  to  be 
very  grateful  to  them  for  all  they  have 
granted  me  in  this  respect.  A  thorough 
welcome,  liberty,  amusement,  a  luxurious 
life,  nothing  wanting— but  .  .  .  but  .  .  . 
as  Sophie  very  truly  says,  I  much  prefer 
to  be  in  the  midst  of  my  own  little  flock. 


97. 


XV 

22-26  September,  1856 

.  .  .  One  of  the  dominant  characteristics  of 
the  Emperor's  facial  expression  is  calm  com- 
bined with  benevolence.  He  possesses  in 
a  high  degree  the  precious  faculty  of  being 
completely  master  of  himself.  In  our  inti- 
mate life  he  sometimes,  it  is  true,  gives  way 
to  laughter  which  comes  near  to  crying— 
often  on  account  of  one  of  his  own  jokes, 
which  are  not  always  of  the  very  finest 
brand  ;  at  other  times  he  is  dreamy,  dis- 
tracted, preoccupied  ;  or,  when  one  makes 
some  remark  about  everyday  life,  or  about 
some  superficial  matter  that  is  not  familiar 
to  him,  such  as  one  picks  up  by  reading 
the  Magasln  Pittoresque,  for  example,  his 
face  and  eyes  assume  an  expression  of  keen 
receptiveness ;    but   in   general   he   is   cold, 

98 


THE   EMPEKOR   NAPOLEON   III 


A  Lively  Empress 

serious,  tranquil,  compos  mentis,  as  the  Latin 
has  it— I  don't  quite  know  how  I  should 
translate  it.  He  does  not  talk  much,  he 
does  not  raise  his  voice,  he  shows  no  anima- 
tion ;    he  is  unmoved,  unexcited. 

Not  so  the  Empress,  whose  fine,  sensitive 
features  reflect  her  feelings  both  keenly  and 
rapidly.  In  a  moment  joy,  anger,  anima- 
tion, pleasure,  desire,  enthusiasm,  activity, 
paint  themselves  on  that  deliciously  pretty 
face.  She  is  a  child  giving  herself  up  to 
every  impression  of  the  moment,  and  allow- 
ing it  to  appear  in  every  feature  and  every 
movement  of  her  person. 

The  Empress  is  no  longer  quite  young, 
yet  on  the  whole  she  looks  remarkably 
young  and  pretty.  None  of  her  portraits 
gives  an  exact  idea  of  her.  She  is 
prettier,  more  handsome,  more  gracious, 
more  alive  than  any  I  have  seen.  Every 
part  of  her  body  displays  a  remarkable 
purity  and  delicacy  of  construction.  What- 
ever costume  she  wears,  whatever  position 
she  assumes,  whatever  be  the  feelings  that 

99 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

animate  her  I  can  but  admire  her,  and  it 
needs  an  effort  to  remove  my  eyes  from  the 
contemplation  of  her  charming  person.  Her 
profile  is  fine  and  pure.  The  disproportion 
between  her  nose  and  the  rest  of  her  face 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated  :  it  is  hardly 
perceptible . 

The  oval  of  her  face,  somewhat  long  and 
regular,  although  a  little  compressed  at  the 
level  of  her  temples,  is  very  characteristic. 
Her  eyebrows,  fine  and  very  well  shaped, 
droop  a  little  at  the  outer  corners. 

Her  blue  eyes,  which  are  amply  large,  are 
a  little  close-set.  Her  mouth  is  very 
gracious,  and  not  badly  cut.  The  only  fault 
she  displays— and  even  that  is  hardly  to  be 
remarked— is  an  occasional  slight  reversal  of 
the  upper  lip,  when  the  inner  side  of  the 
lip  is  slightly  visible  on  either  side  of  the 
central  line. 

Her  wide,  well -modelled  shoulders  droop 
gracefully  ;  her  bosom,  which  she  displays 
a  little  too  much  and  too  frequently,  is  beau- 
tifully placed  and  modelled.  Her  colour, 
loo 


THK    EMl'KESS   KUGKNIE. 


The  Doctor  Embarrassed 

as  a  rule,  is  rather  too  pale.  But  when,  in 
moments  of  emotion,  her  fine  white  skin 
becomes  flushed,  the  tints  which  cover  her 
bosom,  throat,  and  face  are  so  delicate,  so 
delightful,  and  so  justly  distributed  that  it 
is  impossible  not  to  be  moved.' 

Her  arms  are  well  shaped  and  sufficiently 
plump ;  the  wrist  is  remarkably  slender . 
Her  hand  is  charming,  as  charming  as  yours, 
dear  wife,  which  is  the  highest  praise  I  can 

'  One  evening  at  Saint-Cloud  she  sent  for  me  to 
come  to  her  dressing-room,  to  speak  to  me  of  the 
Prince's  health.  She  was  seated  before  the  glass,  and 
to  speak  to  me  with  greater  ease  she  made  me  sit 
almost  facing  her,  leaning  against  the  dressing-table 
while  she  proceeded  with  her  toilette.  In  this  position 
she  revealed  her  manifold  beauties,  which  I  was  almost 
touching.  The  environment  of  dresses,  perfumes, 
lights,  and  those  beautiful  shoulders,  that  rose  and 
white  skin,  all  this  was  so  overpowering  that  I  felt 
very  sensible  that  I  was  not  made  of  stone,  so  that  I 
had  to  look  at  the  ceiling  lest  my  voice  should  tremble 
in  speaking  to  her.  I  have  thought  since  (but  it  is 
certainly  a  daring  idea)  that  she  very  possibly  put  me 
in  this  position  in  order  to  amuse  herself  with  my 
embarrassment. 

lOI 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

give  it.  Her  figure  is  well  poised,  and  her 
long,  slender  foot  seems  always  at  ease  in 
its  narrow  slipper.  The  ankle  is  as  slender 
as  the  wrist ;  and  the  leg,  which  the  crino- 
line reveals  a  little  too  far,  is  well  made, 
although  a  trifle  slender.  In  short,  she  is 
a  woman  of  good  race,  whose  type  is  at 
once   charming   and   distinguished. 

The  general  impression  of  her  personality 
fits  very  well  with  her  function  of  sover- 
eignty. Not  that  she  has  that  grave,  serious, 
imposing  majesty  which  we  are  rather  in 
the  habit  of  supposing  in  great  historical 
figures,  such  as  Elizabeth  of  England  ;  she 
is  a  thoroughly  gracious  and  truly  feminine 
Majesty. 

I  have  seen  her  in  every  kind  of  costume  : 
in  her  simple,  ugly  bathing-dress  ;  in  her 
dressing-room  when  her  maid  was  undoing 
and  brushing  her  long,  lovely  hair — it  is  a 
deep  blond,  with  golden  lights  here  and 
there ;  I  have  seen  her  in  morning  and 
evening  dress,  in  city  clothes,  in  ball  dresses 
—and  everywhere  and  always  I  have  admired 

I02 


Crinolines 

her.     But  certainly  her  town  frocks  and  hats 
suit  her  less  perfectly  than  anything  else. 

She  changes  her  clothes  very  frequently. 
Since  we  have  been  here  I  do  not  think 
I  have  seen  the  same  dress  more  than  twice, 
and  not  many  have  had  the  honour  of  being- 
worn  as  often  as  that.  The  amplitude  of 
these  dresses  is  something  fabulous.  It  is 
beyond  any  idea  that  you  can  form  from 
what  you  have  seen  in  Paris.  All  this  stuff 
is  supported  by  a  sort  of  skeleton  of 
extremely  flexible  iron.  The  Empress  is 
greatly  attached  to  this  cage,  which  to  us 
seems  very  ungraceful  and  inconvenient. 
She  sticks  to  it  in  spite  of  the  quips  of  the 
Emperor,  to  whom  she  simply  replies  that 
she  does  not  know  how  she  lived  so  many 
years  without  a  cage.  I  can  only  find  two 
excuses  for  this  fashion.  One  is  that 
women  who  wear  it  have  their  legs  free  in 
walking,  and  are  not  hampered  by  skirts 
and  petticoats  hanging  on  their  calves  and 
thighs  and  impeding  their  movements  ;  the 
other,  in  her  case,  is  that  there  is  a  sort  of 

103 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

harmony  between  the  amplitude  of  the 
woman  and  the  size  of  the  apartments  in 
which  she  lives.  In  our  little  rooms,  to  get 
through  our  narrow  doors,  walking  in  the 
street  and  on  the  pavement,  such  a  thing 
is  as  absurd  as  it  is  inconvenient.  But  in 
these  great,  lofty  apartments  a  slight  woman 
in  tight -fitting  garments  would  be  lost,  would 
seem  of  no  consequence.  Here  a  dozen 
women  adorn  the  salon  admirably,  and  are 
in  harmony  with  the  wide  spaces,  the  ample 
seats,  the  width  and  height  of  the  doors.  I 
knew  nothing  of  this  effect,  which  I  now 
understand,  and  I  now  see  why  this  taste, 
false  in  itself,  has  nevertheless  a  certain 
justness  in  its  application.  \  A  similar  idea— 
I  should  say  felt  rather  than  reasoned— must 
have  inspired  the  paniers  of  our  great - 
grandmothers.  The  Empress's  way  of  wear- 
ing her  hair  is  another  matter  altogether  ;  it 
is  most  graceful,  and  becomes  her  marvel- 
lously. It  is  as  you  have  seen  it  in  Her 
Majesty's  portraits,  completely  uncovering 
the  forehead,  the  temples,  and  the  ears, 
although  these  are  not  perfectly  shaped. 
104 


Portrait  of  the  Empress 

I  greatly  admired  this  fashion,  which  is 
always  substantially  the  same,  being  varied 
only  by  a  few  flowers  at  the  back,  or  a 
garland  of  flowers,  which,  being  worn  in 
front,  raises  the  forehead  and  gives  it  more 
majesty. 

On  reading  over  what  I  have  written  I 
do  not  find  much  to  modify.  Perhaps  I 
should  add  that  her  waist,  as  seen  from 
behind,  when  she  wears  a  high  and  tight - 
fitting  bodice,  is  too  long  and  leaves  some- 
thing to  be  desired.  It  is  true  that  from 
neck  to  waist  she  wears  none  of  those  addi- 
tions which  many  women  apply,  in  front, 
behind,  or  on  their  hips,  to  disguise  ungrace- 
ful flatnesses,  projections,  or  hollows  ;  she 
shows  herself  as  she  is. 

When  she  is  tired  or  slightly  unwell  she 
loses  some  of  her  freshness,  and  one  sees 
her  real  age  more  plainly.  But  in  the  even- 
ing she  is  blooming  with  youth  and  beauty. 
She  has  no  need  to  select  the  women  she 
invites  in  order  to  dominate  them  in  that 
sense.     Since  we  have  been  at  Biarritz  there 

105 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

has  almost  always  been  a  ball  twice  a  week. 
I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen  such  a 
number  of  such  pretty  women  together. 
But  I  cannot  compare  them  with  the 
Empress.  She  shines  in  the  midst  of  these 
ladies  like  the  fairest  flower  in  the  garden. 
My  admiration  in  this  case  is  quite  disin- 
terested ;  for  to-day  I  am  convinced  that 
she  does  not  much  like  me,  our  tempera- 
ments  and  opinions   being  very  different. 

One  of  the  moments  at  which  the  Empress 
appears  to  the  greatest  advantage,  and  when 
she  takes  all  hearts  by  storm,  is  that  when 
she  enters  the  salon  at  a  time  when  it  is 
full  of  company.  She  then  has  an  air  of 
sweetness,  modesty,  and  timidity  even,  which 
is  delightful ;  and  when  she  speaks  to  each 
of  those  present  her  face  wears  such  an 
expression  of  benevolence  and  kindness, 
and  she  knows  so  well  just  what  to  say  to 
each,  and  the  expression  of  her  eyes  is  so 
good,  so  affable,  that  it  is  impossible  not  to 
love  her. 

In  private  life  her  manners  are  much  more 
io6 


A  True  Woman 

free,  she  speaks  a  great  deal,  usually 
dominates  the  conversation,  and  asks  very 
rapid  and  frequent  questions.  She  gives 
very  absolute  opinions,  sustaining  the  dis- 
cussion with  vigour,  animation,  and  energy, 
and  not  without  wit.  She  is  full  of  pre- 
judices, sometimes  laughable,  which  she 
maintains  with  skill  and  obstinacy.  But  as 
a  rule  her  opinions  are  based  on  good 
feeling  and  a  good  heart ;  qualities  she 
possesses  in  a  notable  degree.  She  is  pas- 
sionate, but  fundamentally  good  and  honest. 
Her  absolute  ideas,  as  a  rule,  are  far  from 
being  correct  or  founded  upon  sufficient 
information.  But  if  she  deceives  herself, 
she  has  not  and  does  not  evince  the 
slightest  ill-feeling.  I  always  hear  her 
pleading  the  cause  of  goodness,  kindness, 
clemency,  without  thinking  much  of  legality 
or  utility  ;  it  is  the  appreciation  of  a  kindly 
right  feeling  rather  than  reasoning.  And 
in  this  she  does  not  fail  to  be  a  true 
woman. 

Her  goodness  betrays  itself  not  only  in 

107 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  benefits  that  she  spreads  about  her,  which 
are  imposed  upon  her  by  her  situation,  but 
also  by  her  manner  of  bestowing  them.  On 
her  excursions  abroad  she  often  picks  up 
sick  or  miserable -looking  children,  brings 
them  to  the  chateau,  gets  me  to  give  my 
advice,  and  always  sends  them  away  with  a 
good  tip.  The  thing  in  itself  may  be 
merely  politic  ;  but  in  her  manner  of  speak- 
ing to  the  children,  of  touching  and  holding 
them,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  she  loves  them^, 
and  that  it  is  her  heart  that  is  speaking. 
This  goodness  is  only  tainted  by  the  pride 
and  satisfaction — legitimate  enough,  for  that 
matter— which  she  feels  on  comparing  these 
poor  sickly  creatures  with  her  plump  and 
vigorous  son.  Another  very  pretty  detail, 
but  one  which  you,  dear  wife,  will  per- 
fectly understand,  is  that  the  Empress  cannot 
bear  any  one  to  hurt  the  smallest  creature 
nor  kill  it  wantonly.  Very  often  I  have 
seen  members  of  the  house-party  about  to 
crush  some  insect  or  other  which  had  incon- 
siderately entered  the  salon.  They  have 
io8 


More  Characteristics 

always  had  to  catch  it  gently  and  carry  it 
to  a  place  more  fitting  for  it. 

This,  you  may  say,  is  inconsistent  with 
Her  Majesty's  love  of  bull-fighting ;  this 
is  true.  And  there  is  another  point  of  view 
of  Her  Majesty's  character  which  I  want 
you  to  realise. 

There  is  nothing  artistic  about  the 
Empress.  She  knows  music,  but  does  not 
care  for  it,  takes  no  pleasure  in  it.  I  think 
she  knows  something  of  drawing,  but  she 
does  not  seem  to  understand  painting  and 
the  fine  arts  very  well.  She  does  not  care 
for  them,  does  not  feel  them,  does  not  appre- 
ciate them,  or  appreciates  them  wrongly. 
Yet  some  means  is  needed  of  satisfying  the 
activity,  the  overflowing  life  that  fills  her  to 
overflowing.  For  it  is  really  she  that  is 
responsible  for  the  swing  and  animation  of 
life  in  the  chateau.  Without  her  one  would 
die  of  ennui. 

This  will  explain  her  ardent  thirst  for 
pleasure,  and  if  to  this  you  add  a  horror  of 
any  physical  or  moral  suffering,    you  will 

109 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

have  yet  another  aspect  of  her  character. 
No  price  is  too  great  to  pay  to  satisfy  this 
thirst  for  pleasure  or  the  avoidance  of  what 
is  disagreeable  to  her.  But  this  is  too 
absolute  a  statement ;  I  have  seen  her 
struggle  against  this  feeling  from  a  pure 
sense  of  benevolence,  and  in  order  not  to 
cause  pain  to  such  as  displease  her.  But  it 
also  happens  sometimes  that  she  gets  carried 
away  by  this  double  feeling,  and  then  she 
may  become  unjust  and  forget  the  humanity 
and  goodness  which  are  really  hers.  Here 
is  an  example— to  a  certain  point  excusable. 
I  have  heard  her  breathing  flames  and 
perdition  against  a  man  who  thought  of 
presenting  to  Biarritz  an  establishment  for 
the  treatment  of  poor  scrofulous  children. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  such  an  idea?  "  she 
said.  "  A  nice  advertisement  for  my  poor 
Biarritz !  Who  would  ever  come  here  if 
at  every  step  one  were  to  meet  lame  or  dis- 
figured invalids?  "  I  myself  was  vigorously 
reproved  for  having  had  the  audacity  to  say 
that  the  collection  of  bathing  huts  was  incon- 

I  JO 


After-dinner  Amusements 

venient  and  unhealthy,  and  that  it  should 
be  improved.  It  was  nothing  to  her  that 
Biarritz  should  be  a  healthy  and  beneficial 
locality  in  which  invalids  might  come  in 
search  of  health ;  it  is  a  place  where  a 
certain  society  should  be  able  to  install  it- 
self in  order  to  keep  the  people  of  the 
chiteau  company,  to  share  and  contribute  to 
their  amusement ;  anything  else,  even  any 
pleasures  that  might  compete  with  those  of 
the  chateau,  displeases  her.  She  has  the 
egoism  of  pleasure,  as  she  has  a  horror  of 
suffering. 

In  respect  of  pleasures,  I  must  interrupt 
myself  a  moment  in  order  to  describe  some 
scenes  I  witnessed  last  night— the  25th— 
after  a  dinner  to  which  several  guests  had 
been  invited,  the  last  remnant  of  the  society 
of  Biarritz  ;  it  was  a  dinner  of  intimates, 
or  nearly  so.  Not  knowing  what  to  do  in 
the  evening,  games  were  suggested,  while 
the  Emperor  was  occupied  .vith  the  Prussian 
envoy.  A  big  circle  was  made  of  all  the 
persons  present ;    all  put  their  hands  on  a 

1 1 1 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

string  which  went  the  round  of  the  party ; 
and  two  persons  placed  in  the  centre  tried 
to  slap  the  hands  that  held  the  thread. 
These  hands  had  to  try  to  avoid  the  slap 
by  rapid  movements,  without  ever  releasing 
the  string.  As  you  may  imagine,  there  was 
a  regular  shower  of  slaps.  Her  Majesty 
gave  and  received  them  heartily,  with  the 
shrieks  and  laughter  of  a  schoolgirl  on  her 
holidays .  When  a  sufficient  number  of  slaps 
had  been  given  and  received,  another  game 
was  commenced.  The  ladies,  assembled  in 
one  of  the  drawing-rooms,  armed  themselves 
each  with  a  serviette  folded  in  a  loop,  the 
two  ends  being  held  in  the  hand,  thus 
forming  a  sort  of  cudgel  with  which  a  good 
blow  could  be  struck.  Each  lady  chose  a 
gentleman— the  choice  made  unknown  to 
the  gentlemen .  Each  of  them  entered  in  turn 
and  went  up  to  a  lady,  saluting  her.  If  he 
had  the  luck  to  salute  the  one  who  had 
chosen  him,  he  remained  in  the  company  of 
the  ladies  ;  but  if  he  was  mistaken,  all  im- 
mediately fell  upon  him,  overwhelming  him 

112 


A  Romp 

with  blows  from  their  napkins,  till  he  had 
left  the  room.  I  have  seen  the  Emperor 
pursued  in  this  way  by  these  ladies,  jumping 
over  chairs,  tables,  sofas ;  I  have  seen 
Count  Hatzfeldt  assailed  with  blows  skil- 
fully applied  ;  I  have  seen  the  Minister  of 
Public  Works  fleeing  from  the  blows  that 
rained  upon  his  back,  and  I  myself  have 
received  my  fair  share.  You  cannot  imagine 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  the  Empress 
throws  herself  into  these  games,  which  easily 
degenerate  into  a  confused  riot,  a  kind  of 
battle  in  which  the  men,  under  a  continual 
shower  of  blows,  strive  to  disarm  the  ladies. 
The  Empress  is  like  an  escaped  schoolgirl, 
striking  right  and  left,  running,  shrieking, 
gesticulating,  and  displaying  not  a  trace  of 
the  majesty  of  a  monarch. 

You  will  understand  that  with  such  tastes 
and  amusements  Her  Majesty  sometimes 
loses  the  air  of  perfect  distinction  which 
characterises  her  in  ordinary  life,  above  all 
in  moments  of  ceremony  or  display. 

As  long  as  the  Emperor  is  present,  as  a 
S  113 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

rule,  she  preserves  her  rank  and  her  dignity, 
but  when  he  is  absent  she  sometimes  gives 
way  to  postures,  manners,  and  expressions 
which  are  not  sufficiently  those  of  a  great 
lady.  However,  do  not  let  us  exaggerate  ; 
there  is  nothing  serious  in  this  ;  these  are 
the  merest  trifles  ;  and  then  there  is  a  very 
good  excuse  for  this  slight  failing  of  hers  ; 
she  is  not  French  ;  her  education,  and  the 
kind  of  life  she  has  led,  seem  to  me,  together 
with  her  natural  temperament,  to  have 
resulted  in  certain  characteristics  and  ways 
of  thought  and  action  the  significance  of 
which  she  fails  to  understand  from  the 
French  point  of  view.  Here  is  the  proof  : 
when  she  has  used  a  word  or  expressed  an 
idea  which  has  seemed  to  astonish  those 
about  her,  she  has  stopped,  and  blushed 
adorably,  saying,  "  Have  I  done  some- 
thing wrong?  "  Another  proof  :  one  of  her 
relatives  whom  I  have  often  seen  here 
is  far  more  easy-going  and  peculiar 
than  she ;  takes  eccentric  liberties  which 
set  every  one  laughing,  and  might  put 
114 


Bull-fights 


very  peculiar  and  very  fatuous  ideas 
into  the  head  of  a  Parisian.  "  What  do 
you  expect?"  the  Empress  tells  us;  "she 
was  brought  up  like  that,  she  does  not 
know  her  manners  are  not  conven- 
tional ;  but  this  freedom  of  manner  con- 
ceals a  depth  of  strict  uprightness,  and 
nothing  could  ever  be  said  against  her 
conduct."  The  Empress,  who  is  far  from 
producing  the  same  imJ>ression,  does  not  see 
that  she  goes  a  little  way  in  that  direction, 
which  must  be  her  excuse.  Here  again  is 
the  origin  and  explanation  of  all  those 
rumours  which  have  been  set  going  about 
her,  and  which  have  no  more  truth  in  them 
than  the  calumnies  which  are  spread  about 
the  Emperor. 

Her  training  again  explains  the  Empress's 
passion  for  bull-fights.  "  How  should  I 
not  love  them,"  she  says,  "  when  since  my 
earliest  childhood  I  have  witnessed  them 
once  a  week  ?  "  She  knows  all  the  details 
of  this  conflict  of  courage,  intelligence,  and 
skill  with  the  strength,  ferocity,  and  intelli- 

115 


Empress  Eugenic  and  her  Circle 

gence  even  of  the  bull.  She  can  distinguish 
the  qualities  and  faults  of  the  animal,  its 
manner  of  attack,  and  the  kind  of  defence 
that  should  be  adopted.  She  knows  the 
value  of  attack  and  parade,  and  ...  I 
cannot  disguise  the  fact  that  all  this  is  very 
interesting ;  I  have  felt  it  myself ;  and  this 
interest  conceals,  so  to  speak,  the  sight  of 
the  blood  and  the  cruelty  of  the  spectacle. 
I  will  say  no  more  because  I  know  all  this 
shocks  you.  That  is  natural,  in  your  case  ; 
but  you  can  understand  from  what  I  have 
written  that  the  Empress  may  be  excused 
for  having  so  far  retained  this  taste,  which 
she  will  lose,  I  expect,  after  a  longer  resi' 
dence  in  France,  and  a  greater  knowledge 
of  our  manners.  This  spectacle  could  never 
become  popular  among  us  ;  not  only  because 
in  our  climate  it  is  impossible  to  raise  the 
kind  of  bulls  necessary  for  the  purpose. 
The  water,  pasturage,  climate,  and  sun  of 
France  make  the  Spanish  bulls  pine  and 
even  die. 

You  will  have  been  able  to  judge  from 
ii6 


The  Imperial  Pair 

this  letter  and  those  preceding  it  of  the 
visible  relations  of  their  Majesties  to  one 
another.  The  Emperor  loves  the  Empress, 
contemplates  her  with  a  caressing  gaze  full 
of  tenderness,  is  weak  where  she  is  con- 
cerned, and  yet  rules  her.  I  should  say,  that 
for  him  she  is  a  much-loved,  spoiled  child, 
whom  he  allows  a  great  deal  of  liberty,  and 
for  whom  he  will  commit  all  sorts  of  follies, 
but  whom  he  manages  firmly  enough  when 
anything  serious  is  at  stake. 

Both  love  their  child  devotedly ;  there  is 
nothing  astonishing  in  that.  But  they  are 
both  perfectly  ignorant  of  what  is  fitting 
for  a  young  child.  This  is  natural  enough  ; 
he  is  their  first -bom  ;  and  they  have  had 
no  experience  in  this  connection.  Spanish 
women  as  a  rule  have  not  an  idea  as  to  the 
rearing  of  a  nursing-child.  The  Emperor 
is  always  nervous  :  he  is  always  trembling 
at  this,  that,  or  the  other— the  merest 
nothings.  The  Empress  is  never  afraid ; 
she  looks  forward  ;  she  wants  to  accustom 
the     child     to     all     sorts     of    things ;    and 

117 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

then  at  the  least  trifle  she  collapses  and 
loses  her  head.  All  this  adds  to  the 
difficulty  of  arranging  certain  matters  which 
are  already  hampered  by  other  acces- 
sory circumstances.  Happily  the  Prince  is 
in  the  hands  of  an  English  nurse  who  under- 
stands her  business  admirably,  and  has 
contrived  to  obtain  a  very  great  influence. 
Apart  from  a  certain  number  of  prejudices 
which  I  should  never  be  able  to  destroy,  and 
which  on  the  whole  are  of  no  real  import- 
ance, I  should  not  wish  to  alter  anything 
this  woman  does. 

You  ask  me  what  part  I  really  play 
here ;  what  my  position  is.  Up  to  the 
present  time  the  Prince  has  been  so  well 
that  I  have  had  nothing  of  any  importance 
to  do  for  him.  If  I  had  my  duties  would 
be  difficult,  disagreeable,  and  unpleasant. 
Squabbles  would  be  abundant  in  every  direc- 
tion ;  and  sometimes  I  regret  that  I  ever 
undertook  the  affair.  I  have  learned  much 
and  have  grown  older  in  a  month.  The 
court  is  a  peculiar  world,  which  I  do  not 
ii8 


A  Difficult  Position 

much  like,  I  cannot  and  will  not  say  why. 
Then  on  my  part  I  don't  think  I  please  the 
Empress,  and  I  am  not  certain  of  having 
pleased  the  Emperor.  Neither  of  them  has 
any  confidence  in  medicine  or  in  physicians, 
and  they  carry  this  distrust  to  the  point  of 
injustice.  The  Empress  is  not  ashamed  to 
say  that  all  doctors  are  idle  and  ignorant 
fellows  who  never  do  any  work,  that  they 
try  to  cure  illnesses  and  prevent  people 
from  dying,  which  is  impossible,  since  the 
hour  has  struck,  and  that  they  do  not  try  to 
alleviate  suffering.  When  I  protest  against 
such  ridiculous  ideas  she  interrupts  me  and 
will  have  the  best  of  it.  The  Emperor,  who 
believes  in  magnetism,  and  willingly  lends 
himself  to  charlatans,  does  not  think  we 
know  much  more.  How  can  one  practise 
medicine  to  advantage  in  such  surroundings  ? 
Certainly  I  will  do  my.  duty  conscientiously ; 
but  if  ever  I  cured  a  sick  person  I  should 
deserve  no  credit ;  it  would  mean  that  the 
hour  had  not  struck ;  and  what  would  it 
be  if  the  invalid  did  not  recover  or  recovered 
but  slowly  or  partially? 

119 


XVI 

27  Septeinber,  1856 

.  .  .  The  last  letter  you  had  from  me  was 
pretty  long.  I  am  curious  to  hear  if  you 
found  in  it  what  you  expected.  The  end 
is  not  at  all  what  I  should  have  wished  ;  I 
was  tired  and  the  nearness  of  the  post 
hurried  me.  Certainly  there  is  a  little  to 
modify ;  but  that  will  serve  to  balance  the 
beginning  of  the  letter,  for  it  seems  to  me 
you  are  a  trifle  piqued  by  my  endless  appre- 
ciations and  admiration.  But  what  am  I 
to  do  ?  I  have  said  what  I  think  ;  ought 
I  to  conceal  it  ?  No,  for  I  know  you  admire 
with  me  what  is  beautiful,  because  you  know 
that  in  my  case  such  appreciation  leads  to 
nothing.  My  admiration  for  the  Empress 
would  never  affect  a  grain  of  the  feeling  I 
have  for  you,  and  you  know  what  that  is. 
120 


A  Charitable  Expedition 

...  I  have  just  had  to  leave  you  in  order 
to  go  to  Bayonne  on  His  Majesty's  service. 
I  had  to  send  two  ostlers  to  the  hospital,  and 
when  they  were  cured  I  spoke  of  the  matter 
to  His  Majesty,  saying  that  the  service  ren- 
dered was  worth  two  or  three  pounds  and 
that  perhaps  he  would  think  it  as  well  to 
recognise  it.  The  Emperor  immediately 
gave  me  forty  pounds  to  be  distributed 
among  the  most  necessitous  patients  at  the 
time  of  their  discharge. 

I  was  driven  from  Biarritz  to  Bayonne  in 
a  post-chaise,  with  a  postilion  and  much 
cracking  of  whips,  and  accompanied  by  all 
this  frippery  I  executed  my  commission. 
You  see  the  Emperor  does  things  in  a 
biggish  way.  It  is  always  so  everywhere. 
We  have  scarcely  ever  been  for  an  outing, 
however  short,  without  His  Majesty  pouring 
out  gold  by  the  handful. 

Come,  come  1  I  was  a  monster  to  revisit 
the  bull -fight  !  What  am  I  now,  alas  1  who, 
after  revisiting  it  three  times,  do  not  feel  at 
all  disposed  to  refuse  to  do  so  again?     This 

121 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

spectacle  has  affected  me  as  it  does  m^ny 
people — that  is,  one's  interest  in  it  increases 
in  proportion  as  one  sees  it  more  frequently. 
But  I  must  hold  my  tongue  on  this  subject, 
or  when  I  return  home  you  may  scratch 
my  eyes  out  instead  of  embracing  me  ;  and 
I  want  both  to  preserve  my  eyes  and  to  be 
embraced. 


122 


XVII 

30  September,  1856 

Decidedly  this  will  be  my  last  letter  from 
Biarritz,  dear  love.  It  is  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  my  luggage  is  being 
removed,  to  be  sent  to  Bordeaux. 


The  day  before  yesterday  we  had  one  of 
the  finest  sights  imaginable.  A  tempest,  a 
real  tempest,  during  which  the  furious  seas 
fell  upon  the  rocks  and  flung  themselves  up 
to  an  enormous  height.  What  was  not  less 
curious  was  to  see  the  Emperor  present  at 
the  ruin  of  part  of  the  works.  Ah,  Sir 
Emperor,  you  to  wage  war  against  such  a 
mighty  power  as  that  !  Labour  for  months 
on  end,  raise  a  wall  of  stone  and  mason's 
work,    plant   palisades,    send   for   regiments 

123 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

of  men  that  all  may  be  done  well  and 
quickly ;  employ  men  by  the  hundred, 
harness  yokes  of  oxen  to  carry  stones  and 
transport  rocks,  and  I,  the  sea,  when  I  come, 
I  scatter,  destroy,  and  sweep  all  away  ! 

Well  !  all  is  to  do  again,  and  that  on  the 
eve  of  departure.  It  is  true  that  His  Majesty 
is  attempting  a  very  difficult  thing  :  to  create 
a  promenade  at  the  edge  of  the  sea,  so  that 
in  walking  one  can  escape  from  the  sand, 
which  is  tiring  to  the  feet,  and  to  make  grass 
grow  where  there  is  nothing  but  sand.  But 
the  Emperor  is  tenacious  and  fond  of  diffi- 
cult things.  The  fact  is  that  on  this  sea- 
front,  at  the  chateau,  and  in  the  park,  he  has 
produced  very  remarkable  results,  consider- 
ing the  difficulty  of  the  task  undertaken. 

It  is  no  less  true  that  this  storm  has  given 
us  a  soaking  such  as  you  can  hardly 
imagine.  When  the  sea  is  as  furious  as 
it  has  been  here  the  effects  it  produces  as 
it  charges  upon  the  rocks  are  so  magnificent 
that  one  can  but  go  out  to  admire  the 
spectacle.  So  all  the  Imperial  circle 
124 


A  Fine  Spectacle 

set  forth,  crossed  Biarritz,  and  established 
itself  at  the  edge  of  the  rocks,  where 
the  sea  was  most  furious,  and  where 
it  broke  in  immense  sheets.  It  was 
more  violent  than  ever  that  day,  and  leapt 
over  the  loftiest  rocks.  Sublime  and  mag- 
nificent spectacle  !  At  each  fresh  wave  cries 
of  admiration  were  uttered  by  the  numerous 
spectators.  But  then,  encouraged  by  the 
effect  it  produced  upon  our  imaginations, 
the  sea  leapt  higher  than  ever,  and  covered 
us  with  a  torrent  of  salt  water,  the  best  part 
of  which  made  for  the  Empress.  To  com- 
plete matters  it  rained  like  the  Flood  and 
swamped  us  with  its  cataracts.  In  a  moment 
we  were  soaked  to  the  skin.  No  umbrellas, 
no  shelter,  no  carriages,  and  a  good  half- 
hour's  walk  to  reach  the  chateau.  The 
Empress,  full  of  life  .and  gaiety,  made 
nothing  of  her  trailing  cage,  pushed  one 
and  nudged  another,  and  walked  deliberately 
through  the  puddles  as  Christine  or  Ernest 
might  have  done.  Beside  her  the  Emperor 
regarded   the   pranks   of   his   big   baby   the 

125 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Empress  with  the  utmost  coolness  and 
solemnity.  The  truth  is  that  at  times  like 
this  she  gambols  like  a  veritable  child.  For 
instance,  yesterday,  while  walking,  she  came 
upon  a  bath -chair,  jumped  into  it,  and  made 
one  of  the  men  wheel  her.  The  day  before 
she  met  a  little  shepherd -boy  leading  a 
sheep  which  was  proceeding  very  un- 
willingly, and  not  without  cause.  She 
stopped,  stroked  the  animal,  and  asked  the 
little  fellow  where  he  was  taking  his  sheep. 
"  I  am  going  to  have  it  killed  for  eating," 
he  said.  "  Horrible  !  I  won't  have  it  !  " 
she  cried,  flushing.  "  I  will  buy  your  sheep ; 
let  it  be  taken  to  the  park  and  looked  after." 
And  this  is  the  woman  who  watches  with 
enthusiasm  while  a  sword  is  plunged  into 
a  bull,  to  say  nothing  of  the  preliminary 
torments  inflicted  upon  him.  Yet  another 
contradiction  ;  the  human  species  is  steeped 
in  them,  as  we  were  soaked  with  the  sea- 
water  and  the  rain. 

.  .  .My  word,  now  I  have  put  my  foot 
in  it !  The  Empress  so  annoyed  me  the 
126 


An  Argument 

other  evening  by  speaking  ill  of  doctors  and 
medicine,  trying  to  persuade  me  of  the  great 
virtues  of  table-turning  and  magnetism,  that 
I  discussed  the  matter  with  her— no,  disputed 
it— for  at  least  two  hours  on  end.  I  treated 
such  beliefs  as  they  deserved.  I  said  some 
very  emphatic  and  very  hard  things.  I  saw 
the  Prefect  of  the  Palace  making  me  the 
most  comical  signs  with  his  eyes,  to  the 
effect  that  I  must  stop,  or  must  not  allow 
myself  to  be  carried  away.  But  who  can 
stop  me  once  I  begin  a  discussion?  You 
know  how  keen  I  get.  I  struck  hard, 
straight,  and  often.  The  Empress  retorted, 
and  we  were  like  a  couple  of  dogs  showing 
their  teeth.  Since  then  I  think  I  get  on 
better  with  Her  Majesty.  I  helped  her  to 
pass  two  good  hours,  and  I  did  not  allow 
myself  to  be  trampled  under  foot.  The 
Emperor  himself  wanted  to  persuade  me  of 
the  reality  of  magnetism,  but  I  did  not  yield 
an  inch  of  ground.   .    .  . 


127 


XVIII 

22  November,  1856 

The  first  alarm  as  to  the  Prince's  health. 
On  getting  a  letter  from  Conneau  at  four 
o'clock  I  left  for  Saint-Cloud,  where  I 
arrived  at  six.  The  Prince  had  vomited  in 
the  morning  an  hour  and  a  half  after  taking 
the  breast ;  as  a  result  he  was  pale,  feeble, 
almost  in  a  state  of  semi-syncope. 

This  little  indisposition  has  given  me  some 
idea  of  the  difficulties  that  would  arise  in 
the  event  of  real  illness.  The  Emperor,  who 
knows  nothing  of  the  treatment  of  children, 
allows  himself  to  be  influenced  by  the  first 
person  who  speaks  to  him  with  assurance, 
and  does  not  repose  sufficient  confidence  in 
anybody.  He  asks  advice  elsewhere  than 
of  the  doctor,  and  impedes  the  rational  treat- 
ment of  the  case.  The  Empress  had  at  first 
128 


The  Prince  taken  111 

the  idea  that  the  child  was  poisoned.  Poor 
woman  !  Most  happy  mediocrity !  you 
preserve   us   from  all   such  fears   as   these. 

But  what  promises,  what  interviews,  what 
explanations  have  to  be  given  and  listened 
to  .  .  .  and  how  useless  it  all  is  1  Conneau, 
as  always,  has  been  as  kind  as  he  is  firm  and 
reserved.  Rayer  wanted  to  give  me  a  bit 
of  a  slap.  "  The  Prince,"  he  told  the 
Emperor,  "  has  given  a  proof  of  spirit  in  not 
wishing  to  take  the  soups  they  are  giving 
him."  This  was  well  placed,  as  the  Emperor 
will  not  admit  that  anything  but  the  nurse's 
milk  should  be  given  up  to  the  age  of  one 
year  (an  idea  which  he  got  from  Turck  at 
Plombi^res). 

The  worthy  Rayer  wanted  to  flatter  His 
Majesty,  and  perhaps  belittle  me.  But  he 
made  a  mistake  in  judging  so  hastily,  and  in 
not  recollecting,  what  he  knows  very  well, 
that  a  system  which  may  be  good  in  prin- 
ciple does  not  always  succeed  in  practice.' 

"  I   do   not   remember   now  if   it    was   this  winter 

or  that   of  the  following  year  when  the  Prince  was 

attacked  by  a  slight  indisposition  which  Rayer  again 

I  129 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

On  the  other  hand,  while  the  wet-nurse 
will  not  have  it  that  she  can  be  ill  or  her 
milk  indigestible,  Miss  Shaw  desires  the  con- 
trary, and  would  be  delighted  to  see  the  wet- 
nurse  depart.  They  are  jealous  of  one 
another ;  hence  difficulties  and  disagree- 
ments. But  Miss  Shaw  will  be  the 
stronger  ;  she  will  lead  the  Empress,  who 
will  lead  the  Emperor. 

exploited  very  cleverly.  The  Prince  took  a  slight  cold, 
a  slight  bronchitis  with  a  touch  of  fever.  There  was 
scarcely  any  sibilance  in  the  chest.  A  few  days'  rest 
in  bed,  some  tisane,  and  an  emulsion  would  have  been 
sufficient  treatment ;  but  the  trouble  was  dignified  by 
the  name  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs  ;  an  active  treat- 
ment had  to  be  applied,  and  a  perfectly  useless  blister 
tormented  the  Prince  for  the  greater  glory  of  the 
doctor.  What  could  I  do  against  this  authority,  which 
knew  how  to  get  its  way  ?  Fight  ?  I  should  not  have 
been  heard  ;  I  should  have  been  crushed  between  my 
fears  of  their  Majesties  and  the  then  invincible  position 
of  Rayer.  Conneau  himself  was  under  the  same  con- 
straint. And  the  Prince  recovered  by  himself  of  his 
supposed  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and  from  the 
blister  too. 


30 


XIX' 

27  August,  1857 

You  are  sighing  for  a  letter,  dear  beloved 
little  woman,  and  it  is  four  days  since  I 
wrote  to  you.  For  this  you  must  largely 
blame  the  Empress.  Would  you  believe  that 
I  was  so  stupid  as  to  show  my  bad  verses 
to  M.  de  la  Grange  !  He  had  nothing 
better  to  do  than  to  speak  of  them  to  Her 
Majesty,  who  wanted  me  to  read  them  to 
her,  and  imagine  my  confusion  I  I  had  just 
come  to  see  that  they  were  false  from 
beginning  to  end.  I  had  cut  decasyllabic 
verses  in  half,  when  the  custom  is  to  place 
the  caesura  after  the  fourth  syllable  !  Well, 
no  one  saw  it,  no  one  spoke  of  it,  and  flattery 
helped  the  bad  verses  to  pass,  and  the 
Empress  has  asked  me  for  others  on  the 
Prince  Imperial.  At  this  moment  I  am 
about  to  write,  so  I  must  leave  my  letter 
and  set  to  work,  and  write  some  verses, 
which  I  send  you.    .    .  . 

131 


XX' 

31  August,  1857 

Yesterday— Sunday— the  day  was  fully 
occupied  ;  Mass,  the  regatta,  the  bull -fight 
at  Bayonne,  and  a  ball,  which  lasted  late 
into  the  night,  filled  up  the  time  pretty  well. 
To-day  we  have  the  bull -fight  again.  This 
horrible  struggle  attracts  and  disgusts  at 
the  same  time  ;  it  is  full  of  emotions  ;  it 
demands  so  much  address  and  coolness  that 
in  spite  of  all  I  enter  into  it  and  follow  it 
with  the  keenest  interest.  But  I  am  glad 
when  it  is  over.  Yesterday  I  saw  with 
pleasure  that  the  Empress  is  now  less  drawn 
to  it  than  last  year,  and  that  she  bears  less 
easily  the  sight  of  the  danger  incurred  by 
the  less  adroit  of  the  men.  I  hope  in  time 
she  will  become  entirely  French  and  no 
longer  want  to  watch  this  terrible  sport.  Yet 
132 


Fascinations  of  the  Bull-fight 

1  own  there  is  something  fascinating  and 
really  magnificent  in  the  sight  of  the  bull, 
foaming  with  rage  and  fatigue,  set  firmly 
on  his  legs,  gazing  at  the  matador  and  ready 
to  rush  upon  him  ;  the  latter,  a  tall,  well- 
knit  man,  standing  just  in  front  of  him  at 
a  distance  of  a  couple  of  paces,  with  no  other 
defence  than  a  bit  of  red  cloth  and  a  long 
sword.  This  pose  of  the  two  adversaries 
is  really  fine.  Then,  when  the  bull,  choosing 
his  moment,  lowers  his  head  and  charges 
down  upon  the  man,  who  cannot  avoid  the 
terrible  shock,  a  moment  of  anguish  con- 
tracts the  heart.  But  the  moment  does  not 
last,  and  the  bull,  who  rushes  upon  the  steel, 
is  suddenly  checked  by  the  sword  as  it  enters 
his  body  to  the  hilt,  passing  through  the 
back  of  the  neck,  by  a  spot  no  bigger  than 
a  five-shilling  piece.  From  this  you  can 
judge  of  the  sureness  of  eye  necessary  to 
pierce  this  part  with  the  point  of  a  long 
sword,  which  might  so  easily  be  brushed 
aside  ;  and  also  of  the  danger  incurred  by 
a  matador  who  misses  his  stroke. 

133 


XXI 

5  September,  1857 

My  verses  pleased  Her  Majesty ;  that  is 
all  I  know  of  the  matter,  since  nothing  has 
been  said  of  them  since.  And  they  are  the 
last  I  shall  write  for  Her  Majesty's  eyes. 
One  must  know  when  to  stop.  They  were 
good  enough  and  genuine  enough  in  feel- 
ing to  show  that  I  am  truly  fond  of  my 
little  Prince  ;  but  I  fancy  there  is  a  draw- 
back to  such  exhibitions  of  my  savoir-faire. 
Here  who  pleases  God  does  not  necessarily 
please  His  saints.  The  court  is  a  singular 
world,  where  all  are  jealous  of  all  the  rest 
in  general  and  every  one  in  particular. 
Amid  the  congratulations  I  received  I  had 
an  intuition  of  danger,  and  I  draw  back 
without  the  least  desire  to  raise  myself  to 
the  level  of  this  world,  which  is  not  mine, 
134 


The   Doctor  Moralises 

and  for  which  I  can  feel  I  was  never  made. 
My  dear  child,  how  petty  and  miserable 
things  are  in  this  world  !  The  human  species 
is  the  same  here  as  elsewhere.  Its  faults 
and  virtues  are  just  as  mixed  here  as  else- 
where, and  I  assure  you  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  that  our  life  of  work,  mediocrity, 
and  independence  is  a  thousand  times  pre- 
ferable to  this  sort  of  existence,  in  which 
happiness  depends  on  winning  a  smile  more 
or  less.  Let  us  never  complain  of  our  lot, 
my  dear,  never,  for  we  have  happiness  in 
our  home. 

The  Empress  is  in  excellent  health  ;  the 
sea-bathing  does  her  good ;  she  is  not 
enceinte,  I  am  certain ;  I  only  hope  God 
will  not  refuse  her  a  second  child.  The 
Prince  is  admirably  well :  he  grows  and 
improves  under  one's  eyes. 

But  I  must  return  to  some  of  the  ideas 
I  have  previously  expressed ;  I  do  not 
want  you  to  form  an  erroneous  opinion  of 
my  life  here.  -When  I  speak  of  annoyances, 
disappointments,  and  humiliations,  I  do  not 

V3.5 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

mean  on  my  own  account ;  every  one  here, 
from  their  Majesties  downwards,  treats  me 
with  all  the  kindness  and  consideration  I 
could  wish.  With  all  these  rich,  titled,  and 
highly  placed  people,  I  am  on  a  footing  of 
apparent  equality,  which  I  feel  as  a  privi- 
lege, but,  at  the  same  time,  I  take  care 
to  keep  in  my  place.  I  put  into  practice 
tha  parabolic  precept :  "At  the  banquet 
take  the  lowest  place  if  you  do  not  wish  to 
be  sent  down."  And  I  am,  in  fact,  the  last 
of  all  those  here.  I  do  not  say  this  out 
of  false  modesty :  the  force  of  circum- 
stances has  decided  it.  Nobility  of  race, 
fortune,  and  social  position  have  always 
ranked  and  established  men  above  personal 
merit.  Of  course  I  do  not  speak  of  the 
few  exceptions  which  have  made  transcen- 
dent merit  the  equal  of  the  great  of  this 
world  ;  I  speak  only  of  practical  every-day 
life.  Now  I  know  very  well  that  my  merit 
(and  I  have  sufficient  pride  to  assign  it  a 
fair  value)  is  not  so  great  that  it  ought  to 
place  me  higher  than  I  am,  infringing  the 
136 


Philosophic  Reflections 

habits  and  classes  of  society.  Moreover, 
our  family  nobility  is  recent  and  of  the 
lowest  scale ;  our  fortune  is  non-existent. 
Finally,  the  profession  of  a  physician  is  one 
of  the  lowest,  and  here  at  court  he  is  classed 
last  of  all  among  those  that  approach  the 
throne ;  or,  rather,  he  is  so  unimportant 
that  he  has  no  rank.  We  should  be  very 
unwelcome  and  very  absurd  if  we  tried  to 
place  ourselves  on  a  level  with  those  that 
employ  us.  A  profession  that  earns  so 
much  a  visit  is  too  nearly  akin  to  domesticity 
to  be  set  on  a  level  with  those  which  enjoy 
the  independence  given  by  hereditary 
nobility  and  wealth.  But  this,  my  dear, 
does  not  prevent  me  from  preferring  my 
simple  profession  a  hundred  times  more 
than  those  which  are  open  to  the  upper 
classes  of  society.  Once  again— happiness 
dwells  at  home  with  me ;  why  should  I 
desire  to  go  forth  and  seek  it  in  the  smile 
of  sovereigns  (although  I  love  them),  and 
in  a  ridiculous  struggle  for  its  possession? 
I    have    seen    Mr.    Home,    the    famous 

137 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

medium  who  calls  up  spirits.  I  was  very 
curious  to  make  his  acquaintance.  Directly 
his  arrival  at  Bayonne  was  known  the 
Empress  sent  for  him,  and  spoke  of  him 
to  us.  The  entire  belief  she  has  in  him, 
the  animation  and  violence  with  which  she 
speaks  of  him,  really  distress  me.  This  is 
evidently  one  of  the  weak  sides  of  this 
woman's  character,  remarkable  as  she  is  for 
her  other  qualities,  physical,  moral,  and 
intellectual. 

I  understood  at  once  the  dangerous  side 
of  this  weakness,  and  all  the  advantage 
their  Majesties'  enemies  might  derive  from 
this  belief,  by  spreading  the  report  that  they 
consult  spirits  upon  the  direction  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Empire.  This  danger  has 
occurred  to  a  number  of  the  Imperial 
circle.  All  this  has  greatly  depressed  me, 
and  I  felt  very  unfavourably  disposed  to 
Mr.  Home.  And  as  soon  as  he  entered  I 
disliked  him  intensely.  His  simple,  timid, 
half-awkward  air  seemed  to  me  to  conceal 
a  very  able  savoir-faire.     I  noticed  between 

138 


Home  the  Medium 

his  eyes  and  his  mouth  a  contraction  of 
expression  which  gives  him  a  very  disagree- 
able look  of  duplicity ;  in  a  word,  his  face 
calls  up  a  desire  to  smack  it  rather  than 
any  enthusiasm ;  so,  profiting  by  a  few 
words  of  Her  Majesty's  concerning  the 
hindrance  which  the  presence  of  incredulous 
persons  offers  to  the  actions  of  beings  of 
the  other  world,  I  withdrew  without  a  word, 
and  was  not  present  at  the  seance,  which, 
for  that  matter,  was  not  very  interesting. 
Last  night  Mr.  Home  dined  at  the  chateau ; 
I  was  two  places  distant.  I  could  see  and 
examined  him  thoroughly,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  his  half-simple  air  hides  a  real 
duplicity.  However,  this  second  impression 
was  not  so  disagreeable  as  the  first. 

After  dinner  a  seance  was  held,  and  I 
understood  from  a  few  words  which  had 
been  addressed  to  me  that  I  was  to  remain. 
So  I  sat  down  with  the  rest  round  the  table, 
my  hands  resting  on  it,  and  at  once  I  felt 
the  table  move  and  quiver  ;  then  there  were 
raps  beneath  the   table,   in  reply  to  other 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

raps,  evidently  dictated  by  an  intelligence  ; 
then  there  were  scratching  sounds  right  and 
left,  and  Her  Majesty's  dress  was  pulled ; 
a  handbell  was  taken  from  the  hand  of  a 
gentleman  sitting  at  my  side  and  carried  to 
another  part  of  the  room ;  an  accordion 
which  Mr.  Home  held  in  one  hand  played 
a  delightful  air  with  great  accuracy ;  all 
this  took  place  under  the  table  ;  but  at  the 
end  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  everything 
ceased ;  the  spirit  explained  that  it  wished 
to  express  itself  by  means  of  blows  struck 
under  the  table  ;  it  dictated  a  remark  to 
the  effect  that  there  were  too  many  of  us  ; 
it  mentioned  the  persons  whose  presence  it 
did  not  desire,  and  I  was  among  the 
number,  the  explanation  of  that  being  the 
incredulous  smile  which  I  felt  was  visible 
on  my  face  ;  so  I  had  to  depart .  I  learn 
this  morning  that  the  rest  of  the  evening 
produced  nothing  more  remarkable,  except 
that  a  table  leapt  off  its  four  legs. 

You  will  ask  me  what  I  think  of  all  that. 
These  things  that  I  have  seen  and  heard 
140 


The  Seance 

are  true,  just  as  it  is  true  that  I  have  just 
had  breakfast ;  they  are  out  of  the  general 
run  of  things  such  as  I  can  judge  by  such 
physical  knowledge  as  I  possess ;  that  is 
to  say,  I  cannot  explain  them.  But  to  con- 
clude, therefore,  that  they  are  the  result  of 
sorcery ;  that  spirits  or  the  dead  return 
from  the  tomb  in  order  to  play  the  fool  with 
a  table— you  will  allow  me  to  say  that  that 
is  very  far-fetched.  Between  these  facts 
and  the  given  explanation  there  is  a  gulf 
which,  so  far,  I  cannot  possibly  bridge.  I 
am  ignorant,  absolutely  ignorant,  of  the 
manner  in  which  these  phenomena  are  pro- 
duced. But  inasmuch  as  everything  has  to 
take  place  under  a  table,  out  of  sight,  and 
as  one  is  not  allowed  to  look,  feel,  or 
examine  ;  as  long  as  I  am  not  allowed  to 
use  such  means  as  I  have  at  my  disposal 
to  obtain  information  and  avoid  error  ;  as 
long  as  I  am  told  that  my  incredulity  hinders 
these  manifestations  from  the  other  world, 
I  shall  say  that  I  have  a  perfect  right  to 
disbelieve  in  spirits  and  to  suspect  the  exist- 

141 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

ence  of  very  ordinary  means,  although  these 
may  escape  me. 

In  short,  Mr.  Home  seemed  to  me  to 
be  a  very  able  man,  not  only  as  a  performer 
of  tricks,  but  especially  as  a  man  who  can 
command  intelligences  ;  but  the  spirits  he 
evokes  are  not  those  of  the  other  world,; 
they  are  living  intelligences  that  do  his  bid- 
ding.'    This  is  clear  to  me  and  others  also. 

»  At  Paris,  in  the  Tuileries,  His  Majesty  kept  me 
over  an  hour  telling  me  of  a  host  of  most  singular  feats 
which  he  had  seen  Mr.  Home  perform.  He  had  taken 
precautions,  he  said,  against  any  trickery,  and  had  seen 
with  his  own  eyes  a  heavy  candelabra  leave  a  mantel 
and  move  to  another  part  of  the  room  ;  and  he  had 
looked  under  the  table  at  which  Home  was  performing 
and  had  seen  a  bell  move  and  ring  itself.  He  cited 
Mme.  de  Lourmel,  who  had  seen  her  husband,  dead 
some  time  ago  at  Sebastopol.  Despite  the  good  faith 
and  intelligence  of  His  Majesty,  I  could  not  accept  such 
palpable  errors,  and  the  conversation  terminated  with 
this  remark  on  my  part  :  *'Sire,  when  M.  Rayer  tells 
me  that  he  has  seen  these  things  and  that  he  believes 
them  to  be  the  work  of  spirits  I  might  perhaps  share 
his  opinion  .  .  .  and  yet  ..."  I  should  have  liked  to 
see  how  this  skilful  courtier  would  have  extricated  him- 
self from  such  an  interview. 
142 


The  Doctor  Incredulous 

But   .   .   .  but   .    .    .  what  will  not  the  need 
of  flattery  lead  to  ! 

There,  my  dear  child,  that  is  what  I 
think,  and  I  assure  you  I  should  be  happy 
to  agree  with  you  and  think  as  you  do.  I 
know  what  your  inclinations  are  in  this 
respect ;  not  only  does  the  feminine  mind 
readily  allow  itself  to  be  attracted  by  the 
marvellous,  and  in  this  respect  you  are  a 
woman,  but  I  know  the  opinion  of  a  certain 
person  to  whom  I  am  greatly  attached  only 
too  thoroughly  counterbalances  the  influence 
I  should  like  to  exert  over  you  in  these 
matters.  ...  I  will  only  say  this  :  on  my 
soul  and  conscience  I  have  no  proof  that 
all  these  facts  are  not  produced  by  very 
natural  and  ordinary  means.    .    .  . 


143 


XXII 

14  September,  1857 

How  I  wish,  dearest  wife,  that  I  could  write 
to  you  hour  by  hour  of  what  I  see  and 
learn  and  experience  here  !  Unhappily 
my  memory  is  so  inaccurate  that  it  is  like 
a  mirror,  whose  reflected  image  vanishes  as 
soon  as  the  object  is  removed.  ...  I  have 
had  such  pleasant  moments,  alone,  at  the 
foot  of  the  rocky  walls  of  the  creeks,  face 
to  face  with  great  Nature  and  with  God ; 
intoxicated  with  delightful  feelings,  with 
high  and  lovely  thoughts.  And  I  should 
like  to  make  you  witness  from  afar  this 
human  comedy  that  I  watch  day  by  day, 
and  which  so  greatly  interests  me.  I  am 
hardly  an  actor  in  it  myself,  or  only  for  a 
moment  now  and  then ;  my  part  is  that 
of  an  almost  disinterested  spectator.  The 
144 


PRINCE   NAPOLEON    AND   THE   PRINCESS   CLOTILDE. 


The  Human  Comedy- 
characters,  faces,  manners,  ideas,  and  parts 
played  are  so  varied,  so  curious,  so  different, 
and  so  remarkable,  that  I  only  wish  I  could 
draw  you  a  portrait  of  every  actor  in  the 
piece.  Without  judging  what  lies  behind 
it  all— which  I  hardly  know— I  should  like 
at  least  to  tell  you  of  the  surface ;  that 
alone  is  so  interesting  that  I  wish  I  had 
the  pen  of  a  Balzac.  If  I  had  time,  if  I 
could  jot  down  what  I  see  at  the  moment, 
and  intersperse  it  with  a  few  anecdotes— if 
I  had  not  in  a  few  days'  time  to  resume  my 
doctor's  harness,  I  should  undertake  the  task, 
not  with  any  idea  of  succeeding,  but  with 
the  certainty  that  it  would  interest  you. 
There  is  too  much  material ;  later  on,  in 
our  chats  together,  perhaps  I  shall  be  able 
to  tell  you  of  Prince  Napoleon,  of  M.  and 
Mme.  Valeski,  of  Mmes.  Montebello  and 
de  la  Poeze,  and  of  all  these  gentlemen  .  .  . 
there  are  certain  things  better  spoken  than 
written. 

I  told  you  at  the  beginning  that  we  had 

been   to   Bidache   to   visit   the    Chateau   de 

K  145 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Grammont.  It  is  twenty  or  thirty  miles 
from  Biarritz.  There  were  twenty-seven  of 
us,  not  counting  servants,  travelling  in  three 
chars-a-bancs.  It  was  a  delightful  journey, 
through  fresh,  green,  hilly  country.  The 
ruins  are  superb,  but  much  mutilated  by 
time.  Grammont  was  a  beautiful  chateau 
built  upon  a  hillock  in  the  midst  of  a 
delightful  plain  watered  by  a  little  river, 
which  winds  in  all  directions  before  making 
for  the  sea.  While  there  we  were  caught 
in  a  torrent  of  rain,  without  so  much  as  a 
roof  to  shelter  us .  The  ruins  are  isolated ; 
all  the  roofs  have  fallen,  and  only  the 
walls  remain.  Between  two  showers  we 
dined  in  the  open  air,  after  which  we  had 
singing  and  dancing  amid  the  ruins  ;  in  the 
evening  Bengal  lights  were  burned  to  illu- 
minate them  ;  and  finally  we  resumed  our 
places  in  the  chars-a-bancs,  pursued  by  a 
storm  of  wind  and  rain ;  so  we  were  all 
well  wetted,  soaked  to  the  skin.  In  this 
condition  we  returned  to  Biarritz  about  mid- 
night. A  good  supper  warmed  us,  and  we 
146 


A  Pleasant  Excursion 

all  sought  our  beds  with  pleasure.  No  one 
was  ill.  Next  day  the  most  delicate  ladies 
were  fresh,  lively,  and  quite  ready  to  begin 
again.  This  outing  inspired  me  with  a  few 
verses  in  the  form  of  a  song.  This  is  how 
it  was  :  when  we  had  visited  the  ruins  Her 
Majesty  wished  to  be  alone  awhile,  and 
sent  us  off  to  wander  where  we  would.  I 
took  with  me  the  old  tutor  of  the  Duke 
of  Albe,  who,  having  brought  up  the  father, 
educated  the  sons  also,  and  is  now  a  friend 
of  the  family.  He  treats  the  Duke,  the 
Duchess,  and  the  Empress  herself  like  chil- 
dren whom  he  has  known  all  his  life.  He 
is  a  very  interesting  type  of  simplicity,  good- 
nature, intelligence,  and  learning  combined. 
I  am  very  fond  of  him,  and  often  talk  with 
him.  Well,  I  led  him  off  to  visit  an  old 
bridge  with  arches  of  unequal  width  which 
crosses  the  river.  I  was  walking  with  Don 
Juan  when  from  another  direction  we  saw 
Mme.  de  M.  and  Mme.  de  P.  approaching 
in  company  with  two  gentlemen  ;  they  also 
were  making  for  the  bridge.  The  ladies 
begged  us  to  accompany  them.     The  fact 

1.47. 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

was  that  the  two  couples  had  thoughtlessly 
set  off  together,  and,  not  feeling  quite  sure 
what  might  be  said  of  them  in  high  places, 
were  very  glad  to  ,see  us  and  keep  us  with 
them  for  the  sake  of  appearances.  We  went 
on  and  on  until  we  had  lost  sight  of  the 
chateau  ;  the  path  seemed  endless,  and  we 
were  afraid  of  being  scolded  by  Her  Majesty 
on  our  return  (these  ladies  were  in  waiting, 
so  ought  to  have  been  close  at  hand).  This 
unfortunate  walk  was  the  text  of  a  host  of 
pleasantries,  and  Mme.  de  M.,  who  was 
perhaps  afraid  that  her  action  would  be 
criticised,  kept  on  asking  me,  "  Well, 
doctor,  what  do  you  think  of  our  going  off 
like  this  ?  "  So  much  so  that  no  one  can 
make  that  remark  now  without  every  one 
shouting  with  laughter.  Another  remark 
also  caused  much  amusement  when  repeated. 
These  ladies,  speaking  of  the  unhappiness 
which  they  felt  at  being  parted  from  their 
families,  kept  on  repeating,  "  I  need  to  be 
loved."  You  can  imagine  the  retort  that 
might  be  made.  The  refrain  of  my  song 
was  made  of  these  two  remarks. 

148 


XXIII 

1 8  September,  1857 

My  dearest  Wife,— 

I  write  with  my  eyes  streaming 
with  tears,  sopping  handkerchief  after 
handkerchief.  I  have  caught  one  of  those 
delightful  colds  in  the  head  that  you  know 
so  well.  I  weep,  I  drip,  I  can  hardly  speak, 
hardly  see,  and  I  look  the  biggest  fool 
imaginable.  Yesterday  I  dined  with  Mme. 
de  B .,  and  hardly  knew  what  I  was  saying  ; 
and  this  morning  I  don't  know  what  Her 
Majesty  will  think  of  my  red  nose.  It  is 
stupid,  as  apart  from  this  I  am  very  well 
indeed,  and  quite  able  to  enjoy  life. 

You  may  be  curious  to  know  why  I  was 
dining  alone  with  Mme.  de  B.  Well,  don't 
be  anxious  ;  the  proprieties  were  observed. 
We  were,  it  is  true,  sitting  at  opposite  sides 
of  one   little   table,   but   we   were   separated 

149 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

by  a  magnificent  candelabrum  with  five 
candles,  which  threw  a  light  upon  all  our 
actions,  and  behind  us  were  a  butler  and  a 
footman,  who  watched  our  slightest  move- 
ments and  drank  in  every  word. 

And  then  Mme.  de  B.  has  the  misfortune 
to  be  anything  but  pretty.  Moreover,  she 
is  a  saintly  person,  very  good,  and  full  of 
religion.  Also  I  am  much  in  love  with  my 
dear  wife.  All  this,  I  think,  will  allay  the 
thoughts  that  this  tete-d-tete  might  put  into 
your  head.  The  fact  is  that  the  Court  went 
for  an  excursion  to  Spain,  and  the  Empress 
was  inflexible  where  I  was  concerned.  I 
could  not  obtain  permission  to  be  of  the 
party  ;  I  was  sea-sick  once  last  year,  since 
when  I  have  not  been  able  to  set  foot  in 
a  boat,  and  I  felt  the  prohibition  the  more 
because  yesterday  the  sea  was  absolutely 
calm ;  not  a  ripple  on  its  vast  extent,  so 
I  am  sure  no  one  was  ill.  However,  one 
cannot  have  everything,  and  there  were 
plenty  of  other  pleasant  things  to  console 
me. 
150 


Portrait  of  a  Lady 

The  song  I  sent  you  in  my  last  letter  has 
had  a  marvellous  success.  It  has  been  read, 
re-read,  and  sung.  I  have  been  asked  to 
add  a  couplet  introducing  a  remark  of  Don 
Juan's  which  greatly  amused  the  company. 
I  had  to  give  copies  to  the  two  ladies  and 
to  M.  Morio  de  I'lle,  who  took  part  in  our 
walk.  Mme.  de  M.  has  been  very  pleasant 
to  me  ;  she  chose  a  moment  when  I  was  not 
in  my  room  to  enter  and  place  on  my  desk 
(addressed  to  my  children)  a  great  stick  of 
sweetstufif,  on  which  she  had  written : 
"  Souvenir  of  Bidache,  but  not  an  emblem." 
Because,  she  says,  the  sweetstuff  is  destined 
to  dissolve  and  disappear,  but  not  the 
memory.  Now,  Mme.  de  M.  is  young 
and  pretty,  and  very  amiable — oh  dear,  oh 
dear  !— this,  my  poor  Octavie,  is  much  more 
dangerous  than  the  tete-d-tete  with  Mme. 
de  B.,  and  in  order  to  tease  you  a  little 
I  shall  give  you  a  portrait  of  this  young 
lady.  Her  face  is  a  very  long  and  very 
distinguished  oval ;  she  has  large  blue  eyes, 
well  placed,  with  an  expression  of  amiability 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

that  is  just  a  thought  coquettish ;  fine,  well- 
pencilled  eyebrows,  a  smooth,  rather  wide 
forehead,  hair  of  a  deep  blond,  plentiful 
enough,  a  straight  nose,  just  a  little  too 
strong,  a  moderately  wide  and  gracious  and 
rather  well -cut  mouth,  and  the  chin  just  a 
little  prominent.  Her  throat  is  slender,  the 
shoulders  drooping  very  gracefully ;  they 
are  well  set  back,  and  the  skin  is  fine,  and 
prettily  tinted  with  rose  and  white ;  the 
bosom  well  modelled,  well  placed,  a  trifle 
too  thin ;  the  back  deliciously  supple  and 
undulating  ;  and  with  all  this  she  is  rather 
pale,  a  little  too  thin,  and  often  fatigued. 
When  she  walks  it  is  not  with  her  legs  only ; 
her  whole  body  sways  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
which  is  not  at  all  disagreeable.  When  she 
speaks  to  you  she  often  leans  her  head 
toward  you,  lifting  her  wide  and  beautiful 
eyelids,  and  slightly  raising  the  corners  of 
her  mouth ;  then  she  has  perhaps  rather 
too  coquettish  an  air,  but  she  is  so  adorably 
pretty  that  you  readily  forgive  her.  In 
short,  Mme.  de  M.  is  a  very  charming  young 
152 


A  Charming  Woman 

woman  physically,  and,  I  should  think, 
morally  as  well.  In  her  character,  as  in 
her  manners,  there  is  a  certain  tinge  of 
coquetry,  but  it  is  not  too  marked ;  it  is 
a  light  that  certainly  attracts  the  moths,  but 
does  not  singe  them.  Now,  my  dear  little 
wife,  you  must  know  I  am  on  excellent  terms 
with  Mme.  de  M.  ;  when  I  am  in  a  corner 
of  the  salon  she  will  often  leave  her  place 
to  come  and  sit  by  me,  and  chat  with  me, 
or  will  make  me  sit  by  her ;  and  if  she  goes 
to  take  a  bonbon  from  the  huge  box  which 
is  always  in  the  salon  she  chooses  one  to 
offer  me.  Decidedly,  poor  dear,  you  must 
be  jealous,  you  can't  help  it.  .  .  .  No,  my 
dear,  you  need  not  be.  All  this  is  not  meant 
to  distinguish  me  from  others ;  it  means 
simply  one  thing,  namely,  that  my  position 
in  the  present  house -party  is  somewhat 
modified.  The  reserve  of  which  I  spoke 
in  a  former   letter  '   has   borne  fruit  which 

»  My  reserve  ?  Was  this  really  the  cause  of  the 
fact  I  mention  here  ?  At  this  time  all  the  villa  felt  such 
a  need  of  movement  and  amusement,  such  a  desire  to 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

I  hardly  looked  for.  For  the  moment  I 
have  become  the  equal  of  all  these  great 
personages  and  make  one  of  their  society ; 
so  I  accept  the  new  position.  I  accept  it, 
but  I  shall  not  abuse  it,  be  sure,  and  you 
may  always  count  on  my  firm  intention  of 
remaining  as  I  am.  Happiness  lives  at 
home ;    I  am  never  tired  of  telling  you  that. 

escape  the  dullness  that  would  so  easily  seize  on  a 
whole  circle  of  people  temporarily  torn  from  their 
usual  occupations,  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  other- 
wise. Seeing  that  I  did  not  lack  a  certain  vivacity, 
that  on  occasion  I  could  help  to  diminish  this  ennui 
and  bear  a  hand  in  the  business  of  distraction,  I  was 
temporarily  accepted  as  a  not  wholly  useless  member 
of  the  little  inner  circle  of  the  villa.  My  reserve  by 
itself  would  merely  have  left  me  in  my  corner,  and 
when  all  was  said  I  had  not  really  a  higher  position  in 
their  society  than  the  previous  year. 


1.5.4 


XXIV 

19  September,  1857 

Last  night  I  told  Mme.  de  M.  that  you  had 
written  to  me  to  ask  if  she  were  pretty.  She 
has  tormented  and  teased  me  in  every 
imaginable  way  to  find  out  what  I  replied. 
I  told  her  I  had  drawn  her  portrait,  that  it 
was  so  lengthy  that  I  could  not  repeat  it, 
that  it  occupied  two  large  pages.  ...  In 
short,  I  so  greatly  excited  her  curiosity  that 
she  was  as  charming  and  amusing  as  pos- 
sible. Apart  from  that,  she  is  a  very  kind 
and  excellent  woman,  much  attached  to  her 
husband  and  children,  and  already  jealous 
of  the  future  wife  of  her  son,  who  is  nine 
years  old.  The  sort  of  little  clique  which 
we  have  formed  among  us— Mme.  de  M.,  M. 
Morio  de  I'lle,  de  la  Grange,  and  myself — 
has    very   nearly   got    us   into   trouble   with 

155 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Mme.  de  la  P.,  who  has  quite  wrongly  got 
the  idea  that  we  laugh  at  her ;  in  this  case 
the  unfortunate  yet  perfectly  innocent 
ironical  expression  of  mine  has  produced  its 
effect.  Mme.  de  B.  was  the  first  to  remark 
it ;  she  has  noticed  that  I  make  all  sorts 
of  asides  which  are  more  or  less  reflected 
in  my  face,  so  that  one  day  at  lunch,  during 
a  general  conversation,  while  I  was  watch- 
ing the  different  expressions  of  those  present, 
and,  so  it  seems,  amusing  myself  thereby, 
she  suddenly  cried  out,  "  Come  now,  look 
at  the  doctor  sneering  away  in  his  corner  !  " 
This  drew  general  attention  to  me,  and  as 
I  am  not  supposed  to  be  entirely  an  im- 
becile people  are  just  a  little  afraid  of  my 
judgments.  But  I  really  do  not  deserve 
that  they  should  concern  themselves  with 
my  opinions  to  that  extent. 

Mme.  de  P.  has  taken  our  little  clique 
very  seriously,  feels  out  of  it  and  believes 
herself  laughed  at,  and  it  has  needed  all  the 
efforts  of  the  excellent  Morio  to  calm  this 
tempest  in  a  teacup. 

156 


Mme.   de  la  P. 

And  after  all  one  must  admit  that  Mme. 
de  la  P.  is  much  less  attractive  than  Mme. 
de  M.  She  has,  I  should  think,  a  sound  and 
steady  character,  seems  to  be  very  intelli- 
gent, and,  what  would  please  you,  is  greatly 
interested  in  natural  history.  She  loses  no 
opportunity  of  enriching  her  collections, 
which  have  been  made  and  arranged  by 
herself  and  her  husband. 

All  I  know  of  her  moral  and  intellectual 
qualities  is  thus  entirely  in  her  favour  (and 
after  a  number  of  years  I  persist  in  this 
judgment,  in  spite  of  the  gossip  of  certain 
malicious  tongues),  but  her  appearance  only 
partly  corresponds.  She  is  tall,  and  as  thin 
as  she  is  tall ;  her  hair  and  eyes  are  almost 
black,  her  skin  brown,  her  nose  very 
aquiline,  her  chin  very  prominent,  her  mouth 
receding,  and  her  lips  short,  which  gives 
her  rather  a  look  of  Punch,  But  there  is 
such  an  expression  of  youth  on  this  face 
that  it  partly  atones  for  what  is  lacking  in 
her  appearance  ;  and  she  gains  greatly  by 
longer  acquaintance.     Her  really  ungraceful 

^57 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

and  deplorable  points  are  her  figure  and 
her  shoulders.  Her  shoulders  are  very  high, 
very  round,  and  very  bony  ;  and  far  from 
hiding  them  Mme.  de  la  P.  uncovers  even 
more  than  all  the  other  ladies.  (You  could 
never  imagine  what  an  expanse  of  backs, 
shoulders,  and  bosoms  one  does  see  here.) 
She  has  no  more  bust  than  the  back  of  my 
hand  ;  and  the  upper  part  of  her  shoulders 
and  back  being  the  widest  part  of  her  person 
there  is  nothing  to  support  her  clothes, 
which  are  always  on  the  point  of  falling 
down,  so  that  her  shoulders,  back,  and  the 
upper  part  of  her  arms  display  themselves 
quite  undressed.  I  am  always  afraid  she 
will  come  right  out  of  her  clothes.  She 
reminds  me  of  a  cherry-stone  about  to  spring 
from  between  the  fingers  that  squeeze  it. 
All  this,  even  if  I  exaggerate  a  little,  is 
not  particularly  becoming  ;  and  as  she  is 
also  rather  frigid,  reserved,  nothing  much 
of  a  conversationalist,  and  with  no  percep- 
tible liveliness  or  go,  it  is  not  amazing  that 
the  moths  fail  to  flutter  about  her.  Mme. 
158 


A  Pleasant  Circle 

de  B.  is  the  only  lady  of  the  company  who 
obtains  less  attention  (except  from  me,  for 
I  greatly  like  and  esteem  Mme.  de  B.).  It 
must  be  admitted  that  the  circle  of  women 
one  sees  here  is  remarkable ;  the  Duchesse 
d'Albe  and  Mme.  Valeska  are  as  pretty  and 
charming  as  they  are  pleasant,  and  the 
visitors  who  frequent  the  villa  are  fully  their 
equals  ;  I  can  assure  you  they  are  a  very 
agreeable  company  to  look  at. 


1,5.9 


XXV 

24  September,  1857 

Would  you  believe  it,  my  dear  wife— yester- 
day I  was  compelled  to  dance?  Yes,  I 
actually  had  to  dance.  Mme.  de  M.  and 
Mme.  de  la  P.  invited  me,  subjecting  me 
to  all  sorts  of  little  persuasions,  so  charm- 
ing, so  coaxing,  so  caressing.  ..."  My 
little  doctor "  here,  "  my  little  doctor " 
there,  and  such  sweet  little  hands  taking 
mine  that  I  had  to  give  in.  I  danced  two 
quadrilles  and  the  lancers  (yes,  Sophie,  the 
lancers ;  you  learned  the  lancers  so  that 
I  should  dance  them  at  Biarritz).  Yes,  I 
danced,  and  as  there  was  not  a  crowd  the 
ample  dresses  scarcely  embarrassed  me.  I 
took  those  great  steps  that  you'll  remember, 
which  set  every  one  doing  the  same,  and 
we  all  laughed  till  our  sides  ached. 

I   think   Mme.   de  M.   was   very  pleased 
160 


Mme.  de   M.  Again 

ivith  her  portrait,  but  she  has  amused  me 
tremendously  by  the  way  she  has  taken  the 
slight  qualifications  I  added  to  it.  She  has 
been  teasing  me  about  her  slightly  too 
decided  nose,  her  slightly  faulty  mouth,  her 
pallor,  &c.  .  .  .  It  was  pretty  to  see  the 
effect  upon  her  of  those  revelations  which 
she  had  not  counted  upon.  I  get  on 
capitally  with  her  now  ;  however,  I  am  just 
a  little  reserved,  for  even  if  I  am  quite  an 
old  fellow  I  might  eventually  inspire  feelings 
of  jealousy  in  some  of  those  gentlemen  who 
so  readily  hover  round  a  young  woman  who 
is  pretty,  intelligent,  pleasant,  and  a  bit  of 
a  flirt.  For  that  matter,  she  knows  very 
well  how  to  keep  them  at  a  convenient  dis- 
tance, and  she  does  so  because  she  loves 
and  respects  her  husband,  who,  they  say, 
is  rather  too  e^lderly  for  her,  and  would  soon 
be  cut  out  if  his  wife  did  not  behave  as  well 
as  she  does,  even  though  she  does  permit 
herself  a  little  coquetry,  and  surrender  her- 
self to  the  joys  of  the  dance  with  such 
remarkable  heartiness. 

t  i6i 


XXVI 

24  September,  1857 

I  HAD  a  good  laugh  the  other  day  on  learn- 
ing the  substance  of  a  telegraphic  corre- 
spondence between  the  Emperor  and  his 
adored  spouse.  The  latter  wished  to  make 
a  trip  before  returning  to  Paris.  At  first 
there  had  been  some  question  of  returning 
by  the  Pyrenees  ;  but  the  Empress  does  not 
care  for  driving,  and  detests  the  everlasting 
kow-towing  of  the  officials  ;  so,  preferring 
a  sea  voyage,  she  suggested  to  the  Emperor 
three  routes  for  him  to  choose  from : 
as  I  told  you,  they  were  the  Pyrenees,  the 
Corogne,  and  Cintra.  She  proposed  the 
latter  because  she  wanted  Corogne— a  piece 
of  simple  feminine  duplicity.  The  Emperor 
replied  :  "  Make  the  Pyrenees  journey  ;  the 
other  two  are  absurd."  He  had  the  last 
162 


Cross-purposes 

word.  If  you  could  have  seen  the  Empress's 
face  on  telling  us  of  this  result  you  would 
have  laughed.  But  she  did  not  admit  that 
she  was  beaten,  and  replied  that  she  wished 
to  return  by  way  of  Toulon.  The  Emperor 
replied  :  "  Return  by  Marseilles."  He  had 
not  understood.  The  Empress  wished  to 
return  by  sea,  making  a  voyage  round 
Spain :  a  voyage  of  ten  or  twelve  days. 
The  Emperor  thought  she  would  cross  the 
Pyrenees  and  reach  Marseilles  by  land.  The 
Empress  would  not  admit  that  this  was  the 
Emperor's  supposition  ;  so  another  message 
was  sent  as  follows  :  "  What  steamer  should 
we  take  to  return  by  Marseilles?"  Reply: 
"  You  are  mad,  as  well  go  to  America."  This 
time  it  was  enough  to  split  one  with  laugh- 
ing. "  He  writes  by  telegraph,"  she  said, 
"  as  if  it  were  a  sealed  letter,"  and  she  made 
the  most  droll  and  disappointed  grimace  you 
can  imagine.  Since  then  the  idea  of  the 
voyage   has   been   abandoned. 


163 


XXVII 

25  September,  1857 

It  will  amuse  you  to  hear  that  one  of  the 
means  by  which  Mr.  Home  evokes  his 
spirits  has  at  last  been  detected.  The 
Empress  is  reduced  to  saying  that  the  Home 
of  to-day  is  not  the  Home  of  other  days  ; 
that  he  has  lost  his  power  and  is  seeking 
to  replace  it  by  subterfuges.  The  matter 
is  simple  enough.  Mr.  Home  has  thin 
slippers,  easily  drawn  on  and  off  ;  he  has 
also,  I  fancy,  cuts  in  his  socks,  which  leave 
his  toes  free.  At  the  proper  moment  he 
throws  off  a  slipper,  and  with  his  toes  tugs 
at  a  dress  here  and  there,  rings  a  handbell, 
gives  a  rap  on  this  side  or  that,  and  the  thing 
once  done  quickly  slips  his  foot  back  into 
its  slipper  again.  This  was  seen  by  M. 
Morio,  who  drew  up  a  full  signed  and 
164 
\ 


Collapse  of  Mr.   Home 

written  statement,  with  all  the  details  neces- 
sary to  establish  the  genuineness  of  his  dis- 
covery. Home  saw  that  he  was  found  out, 
and  I  can  tell  you  he  cut  a  very  sorry  figure. 
He  went  out  saying  that  he  was  ill,  and  all 
night  he  has  had  nervous  attacks  and  visions 
and  has  been  surrounded  by  spirits.  Finally, 
as  he  was  judged  to  be  on  the  point  of  death, 
a  priest  was  sent  for,  and  a  doctor.  (Home 
lives  here  with  a  family  of  foreigners  who 
lodge  him,  look  after  him,  and  coddle  him  ; 
it  is  a  case  of  Tartufe  and  M.  Orgon  ;  Tar- 
tufe  is  a  sorcerer  instead  of  a  sham  devotee 
—Orgon  is  a  Pole.)  Next  day,  death  seem- 
ing still  to  be  imminent,  the  doctor  of  the 
chateau  was  begged  to  go  to  the  succour 
of  the  dying  man,  which  he  did  in  great 
haste.  I  found  my  man  stretched  out  in 
bed,  and  surrounded  by  the  anxious,  dis- 
consolate family.  His  eyes  were  red,  his 
face  swollen  ;  he  was  calm  and  overcome 
with  excitement  by  turns.  And  he  had  the 
deceitful  expression  I  have  mentioned 
before.      He  pitched  me  a  long  tale  about 

1 6s 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

his  sufferings,  the  spirits  that  tormented  him, 
and  so  forth.  Unhappily  he  had  the  most 
natural  pulse  imaginable.  Then  he  pre- 
tended to  go  into  a  trance  ;  his  eyes  turned 
up  and  became  fixed  ;  evidently  the  spirits 
were  returning  and  about  to  torment  him 
again.  So  I  took  him  by  the  arm,  shook 
it  rather  roughly,  and  said  in  his  ear, 
"  Come,  Mr.  Home,  no  nonsense  ;  let  all 
the  spirits  be  ;  you  know  I  don't  believe  in 
them."  The  trance  ceased  at  that,  and  he 
looked  me  straight  in  the  face,  and  saw 
plainly  enough  that  I  was  laughing  at  him  ; 
and  the  spirits  immediately  flew  away.  I 
withdrew,  assuring'  the  disconsolate  family 
that  there  was  no  danger,  that  it  was  merely 
a  matter  of  a  nervous  attack,  and  that  they 
must  not  be  in  the  least  anxious.  I  did  not 
fail  to  give  an  account  of  my  professional 
visit ;  I  even  drew  up  a  written  statement, 
which  I  gave  to  M.  Morio  de  ITle  to  add 
to  his  account.  The  evocation  of  spirits  at 
the  villa  has  suddenly  ceased,  and  we  will 
hope  this  unworthy  charlatan  is  revealed  in 
1 66 


The  Spirits  Depart 

his  true  colours.  But  Her  Majesty  cannot 
admit  that  any  one  could  have  the  face  to 
play  tricks  on  herself  and  the  Emperor  for 
a  whole  year. 


167 


XXVIII 

9  September,  1858 

We  have  been  enjoying  the  most  frightful 
weather.  It  rains  three-quarters  of  the  day  ; 
we  scarcely  see  the  sun  ;  but  the  temperature 
is  pleasant,  neither  hot  nor  cold.  We  have 
had  no  outings  excepting  a  short  excursion 
to  the  bar  of  the  Adour,  in  order  to  see 
the  work  of  destroying  the  bar.  If  this 
succeeds  it  will  be  yet  another  service  on 
the  part  of  the  Emperor,  who  would  provide 
France  with  an  admirable  harbour  at  a  point 
of  her  coast  where  the  sea  is  dangerous 
and  there  is  no  means  of  getting  into  shelter. 
We  have  to  kill  time  somehow,  and 
hardly  succeed  in  doing  so.  For  my  owii 
part  I  have  begun  on  the  work  I  brought 
with  me  ;  and  I  saw  with  pleasure  that  I 
was  getting  ahead  with  it  a  little  way.  I 
had  written  some  pages  and  intended  to 
continue,  but  I  reckoned  without  my  host, 
or  rather  without  their  Majesties.  The  day 
168 


Bad  Weather 

before  yesterday  I  had  just  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  the  Emperor,  concerning  his 
health,  and  was  quietly  sitting  in  my  little 
room  (alas  !  I  no  longer  have  that  which  I 
used  to  occupy  on  the  first  floor.  I  am 
now  on  the  ground  floor,  and  lose  the  view 
of  the  lovely  motion  of  the  waves).  I  was 
getting  ready  for  work,  when  some  one  came 
hurriedly  to  find  me,  on  behalf  of  the 
Emperor.  "  Confound  it  !  "  thought  I.  "  What 
is  the  matter  ?  What  has  happened  ?  Is  it  an 
attack  of  apoplexy?"  I  armed  myself  with 
my  lancets  and  rushed  ofl^,  to  arrive  in  the 
middle  of  the  salon,  where  every  one  was 
laughing  their  best.  "  Come  along,  doctor, 
and  write  us  some  verses."  It  was  verses 
they  wanted  !  They  were  endeavouring  to 
make  them  in  common,  and  had  called  me 
to  assist  the  workings  of  their  minds,  their 
Majesties  being  only  too  willing.  They 
think  verses  can  be  written  as  easily  as 
that.  No  one  had  succeeded  in  hitting  on 
a  subject  nor  in  writing  a  single  line.  I 
proposed    bouts-rimes,    which    each    would 

169 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

have  to  fill  in.  M.  Mocquard,  M.  Fav^, 
and  I  succeeded  ;  the  results  were  so  poor 
that  I  did  not  trouble  to  keep  a  copy. 

This  is  what  led  to  this  poetic  debauch : 
the  day  before  M.  Mocquard,  who  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
singular  characters  one  could  wish  to  meet, 
had  improvised  four  stanzas,  and  the 
Emperor  had  set  them  to  music.  They  were 
sung,  and  we  laughed  till  we  could  laugh  no 
more  :  more  than  the  verses  warranted,  con- 
sidering them  in  cold  blood,  but  they  were 
amusing  enough  in  the  heat  of  the  moment. 

Here  they  are. 

Adrienne  is  Mile,  de  Montebello  ;  Staoli, 
Mme .  de  la  Poeze ;  the  Princess  is  the 
daughter  of  Prince  Murat. 

I. 

II  etait  un  petit  bateau 
Qui  doucement  voguait  sur  I'eau. 
II  emportait  mon  Adrienne, 
Ah  !  fasse  le  ciel  que  j'obtienne 
Ce  qu'elle  me  promet  toujours. 
Ah,  viens,  viens  done  a  mon  secours, 
Dieu  des  amours. 


J.    F.    C.    MOCyCAKU. 


To  face  p.  170. 


M.  Mocquard's  Verses 
II. 

Bientot  je  vis  la  Staoli 
Qui  me  dit  :  Mon  petit  ami, 
Laisse  done  la  ton  Adrienne. 
J'ai  bien  de  quoi  qui  te  retienne. 
Tu  cherches  I'amour  qui  te  fuit, 
Et  c'est  vers  moi  qu'il  te  conduit, 
O  mon  petit. 

III. 

Soudain  arrive  la  Princesse, 
Insense,  quoi  !   Lutter  sans  cesse 
Indecis  entre  deux  beautes  ! 
Connais  done  mieux  leurs  cruautes. 
Ah,  viens  plutot  vers  la  sagesse, 
Elle  est  plus  sure  en  sa  tendresse, 
Foi  de  Princesse. 

IV. 

Un  roi  disait :  Fou  qui  s'y  fie, 
Et  cependant  je  me  confie 
A  votre  charmante  le9on 
Et  je  me  soumets  sans  fa^on, 
Sans  m'arracher  a  Belzebuth, 
Et  je  vous  devrais  mon  salut. 
Turlututut. 

I  cannot  write  down  the  music  for  you— it 
is  about  as  good  as  the  verses ;    there  was, 

171 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

in  particular,  an  intonation  on  the  Soudaln 
arrive  in  the  third  verse,  with  a  fall  on  the 
last  syllable— Pr/wc^s  .  .  .  s^— which  is  very 
spirited  and  amusing. 


172 


XXIX 

14  September,  1858 

We  went  for  an  excursion  to  Pas -de - 
Roland  all  together  ;  three  immense  vehicles 
full  of  guests.  We  drove  along  the 
picturesque,  hilly  road,  arrived  at  the  foot 
of  the  Pyrenees,  and  once  more  I  saw  the 
mountains.  You  will  understand  the 
pleasure  I  felt  on  once  more  finding  myself 
before  these  enormous  giants.  There  were 
not,  it  is  true,  those  jagged  peaks,  covered 
with  snow,  which  you  and  I  admired  so 
much  ;  but  great,  beautiful  mountains  with 
magnificent  landslips  and  enormous  blocks 
of  marble  ;  then  the  torrent  roaring  at  the 
bottom  of  the  valley ;  then  a  superb  pro- 
fusion of  enormous  chestnuts.  Ah,  beau- 
tiful, adorable  Nature  I  What  delightful 
sensations  she  gives  rise  to  I  We  dined  on 
the  grass  ;    perhaps  you  remember  a  picture 

173 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

by  Vanloo  which  represents  a  dinner  of  this 
sort ;  it  was  the  same  thing,  but  for  the 
landscape  and  the  costumes.  The  cloth 
spread  on  the  ground,  each  guest  seated, 
reclining,  or  standing,  and  receiving  at 
random  a  wing  of  chicken,  cold  meat,  or 
lobster,  a  glass  of  old  Bordeaux  or  cham- 
pagne or  sherry.  All  talking,  laughing, 
singing,  just  as  it  came  into  their  heads. 
All  this  at  nightfall ;  the  shadows  strug- 
gling in  vain  against  the  light  of  a  dozen 
great  torches  ;  after  dinner,  songs,  laughter, 
and  good  cheer.  We  enjoyed  ourselves  like 
simple  bourgeois,  and  returned  to  the  villa 
at  midnight.  A  good  hot  soup  was  wait- 
ing for  us  ;   after  that  bed,  and  sound  sleep. 


174 


XXX 

22  September,  1858 

What  a  jolly  evening  we  had  yesterday  ! 
I  want  to  tell  you  about  it  while  my  memory 
is  still  fresh,  before  I  reply  to  your  letters. 
Yesterday  we  set  out,  some  twenty-five  of 
us,  without  counting  servants,  with  hampers 
of  food,  two  chars-a-bancs,  and  an  omnibus. 
The  servants  and  the  provisions  were  inside 
the  omnibus,  the  masters  on  the  top,  high 
above  the  road.  I  was  one  of  the  latter, 
following  my  usual  taste.  The  horses  flew— 
there  were  four,  driven  by  a  driver  who  did 
not  seem  quite  to  know  his  business. 
Beside  me  were  Counts  de  la  Poeze  and  de 
Riencourt.  The  latter,  a  good  driver,  and 
afraid  of  losing  his  skin,  was  in  a  perfect 
fever,  foreseeing  all  sorts  of  possible  acci- 
dents, which  I  did  not  foresee,  and  therefore 

175 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

did  aot  greatly  fear.  The  fact  was  that 
at  certain  places  the  road  was  anything  but 
reassuring,  being  far  too  narrow  for  a  tall, 
wide,  heavy  vehicle  drawn  by  frisky  and 
vigorous  horses.  We  had  several  times  to 
get  down  for  greater  safety,  notably  at  a 
village  called  Saint-P6,  where  the  track  was 
very  narrow,  the  streams  very  shallow,  and 
the  crumbling  old  bridges  anything  but 
solid.  Well,  after  driving  about  three  hours 
we  reached  a  charming  valley  at  the  foot  of 
the  Pyrenees,  and  drew  up  at  M.  Michel's 
door.  .  .  .  That  is  nothing,  you  will  tell 
me.  Make  no  mistake:  this  M.  Michel 
is  positively  the  king  of  the  country  ;  he 
is  a  merchant  ...  in  contraband.  The 
French  customs  officers  protect  him  and 
help  him  to  smuggle  from  France  into  Spain. 
As  for  smuggling  from  Spain  into  France, 
that  he  does  into  the  bargain  ;  but  as  Spain 
produces  next  to  nothing,  that  branch  of 
his  business  amounts  to  so  little  that  it 
hardly  counts.  This  M.  Michel,  allied  to 
good  Bayonne  families,  still  young,  active, 
«7.6 


A  King  of  Smugglers 

intelligent,  and  wealthy,  wields  a  great 
influence  in  that  part  of  the  Basque  country 
which  is  his  home.  He  is  really  a  sort  of 
monarch  in  this  strange  and  beautiful 
country,  where  a  language  is  spoken  which 
is  neither  French  nor  Spanish— a  pure, 
complete  language  peculiar  to  this  country, 
its  origin  lost  in  the  night  of  time,  unknown 
to  any ;  a  country  lying  partly  in  France 
and  partly  in  Spain  ;  exempt  from  the  tax 
on  salt  and  tobacco  ( ?),  exempt  from  send- 
ing its  young  men  into  the  army  or 
navy  ( ?)  ;  a  country  which  adores  the 
Emperor,  and  shouts  at  the  top  of  its 
voice  :  "  Long  live  Napoleo  !  Long  live 
Papa  !  " 

Well,  this  M.  Michel,  forewarned  of  our 
visit,  had  made  a  tour  in  the  Spanish  Basque 
country  and  had  obtained  mule -litters  and 
mountain  horses  and  a  number  of  Spanish 
muleteers . 

After  a  light  meal  at  his  place  we 
took  the  road.  I  was  in  a  panier,  act- 
ing as  counterpoise  to  the  Prince 
M  177. 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

of  Moscow ;  and  we  set  off  for  the 
mountain.  Ah,  my  dear,  what  a  lovely- 
country  !  How  can  I  paint  those  gracious 
hills,  covered  with  verdure,  those  enormous 
chestnut-woods,  those  magnificent  ferns,  the 
winding,  climbing  paths,  descending,  skirt- 
ing the  ravines?  I  was  in  one  long 
ecstasy.  I  saw  quantities  of  gentian  in 
flower  ;  unhappily  I  could  not  stop  my  litter 
to  pick  them ;  but  I  had  a  few  picked 
hastily  by  a  servant,  and  as  you  read  this 
letter  they  should  be  at  Versailles ;  one 
only  has  its  roots ;  perhaps  it  will  strike 
root  again? 

After  an  hour  and  a  quarter  we  reached 
the  goal  of  our  journey.  This  was  a  sipot 
of  the  most  extreme  wildness,  by  the 
entrance  to  an  immense  cave,  which  serves 
the  contrabandists  as  refuge  and  storehouse. 
The  entrance,  sunk  in  the  spur  of  the 
mountain,  forms  a  great  semicircle  some 
40  (?)  yards  in  diameter.  This  vast 
entrance,  which  is  the  work  of  Nature,  is 
ornamented  by  fine  stalactites  of  stone,  and 

178 


A  Smugglers'  Cave 

the  whole  circumferent  mountain-side  is 
covered  with  plants,  bushes,  and  trees, 
clinging  to  the  cliff  in  the  most  picturesque 
manner.  It  is  all  so  grand  and  yet  so 
gracious,  so  savage,  yet  so  beautiful,  that  I 
was  ravished  in  mute  contemplation.  Great 
and  beautiful  Nature,  work  of  God,  how 
admirable  thou  art  !  I  could  hardly  tear 
myself  away  from  the  spectacle.  We  soon 
entered  the  deep,  gloomy  cave,  and  went 
forward  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
by  torchlight,  admiring  the  natural  irregular 
pillars  that  support  the  immense  vaulted 
roofs,  so  high  that  our  torches  failed  to 
penetrate  thither.  Then  fireworks  were  lit, 
their  dazzling  radiance,  bluish  and  fantastic, 
revealing  the  depths  of  the  cave  in  all  their 
wild  beauty.  We  could  then  see  the 
immense  subterranean  cavities  and  the 
superimposed  stories  of  the  cavern,  which 
we  left  without  having  explored  its  extremi- 
ties. On  returning  to  the  entrance  a  fresh 
spectacle  awaited  me  ;  the  landscape,  seen 
from    a    distance    through    this    magnificent 

179 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

frame  with  the  delicious  tints  of  the  even- 
ing light,  filled  me  with  an  emotion  of  quite 
another  quality  and  full  of  sweetness.  While 
we  were  in  the  grotto  the  Spaniards,  climb- 
ing to  the  upper  stories,  sang  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  guitar.  We  found  them,  on 
emerging,  perched  above  our  heads,  in  an 
upper  opening,  and  there  they  performed 
their  dances  and  sang  their  songs.  How 
much  you  have  missed,  my  dear,  who  are 
so  sensible  to  the  beauties  of  Nature  !  How 
our  hearts  would  have  beaten  in  unison 
before  these  beauties  !  I  have  religiously 
gathered,  from  the  wall  of  the  entrance  to 
the  cavern,  some  pretty  little  plants  which 
I  send  you  ;  not  because  they  are  rare  and 
curious,  but  as  a  souvenir  of  the  pleasant 
emotions  I  have  experienced  there,  which 
I  recover  as  I  write  to  you. 

However,  night  came  on,  and  the  table 
was  laid  on  the  turf  opposite  the  cavern. 
We  sat  at  table,  talking,  and  happy— yes, 
happy,  for  all  saw  the  Empress's  delight  at 
once  again  hearing  the  voices  and  songs 
i8o 


A  Supper  in  Spain 

of  the  Spaniards,  who,  during  the  whole  of 
the  dinner-time,  continued  to  sing  and  play 
with  a  swing  and  vivacity,  a  grace  and  a 
finish  which  were  perfect.  The  emotion  of 
the  Empress  was  so  evident,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  unalloyed— the  emotion  of  one 
who  gazes  once  more  upon  her  long -for- 
saken native  land.  This  emotion  affected 
all  of  us,  it  was  so  genuine  and  so  generous . 
But  after  dinner  it  was  quite  another  matter. 
Time  and  space  had  saved  us  from  the 
curious,  the  indifferent,  and  the  authorities  ; 
we  were  alone  together  ;  and  when,  after 
dinner,  the  Basques  began  to  dance  to  the 
sound  of  the  guitar  the  dances  of  their 
country,  the  Empress  could  hold  out  no 
longer,  and,  flinging  aside  her  hat  and 
mantle,  she  began  to  dance  a  most  graceful 
fandango.  She  was  simple  and  delightful, 
and  the  expression  of  her  face  was  ravish- 
ing. Every  one  felt  that  the  Empress  had 
returned  to  her  own  country,  and  for  a 
moment  had  recovered  the  liberty  of  other 
days.     All  sympathised  with  her,  and  would 

i8i 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

willingly  have  prolonged  these  moments  of 
delightful  illusion. 

But  night  had  fallen  ;  we  had  perforce 
to  tear  ourselves  away  from  these  delights. 
Each  resumed  his  mount ;  and  my  litter, 
strapped  on  by  a  well-knit,  handsomely 
built  muleteer,  once  more  received  the 
Prince  of  Moscow  and  myself.  Our  worthy 
muleteer,  excited  by  the  songs  and  dances 
in  which  he  had  borne  his  part,  continued 
to  dance  and  sing  as  we  went  along,  con- 
versing with  his  mule,  and  from  time  to 
time  favouring  us  at  random  with  all  the 
French  words  he  could  call  to  mind.  Our 
return  was  as  gay  as  our  evening  had  been, 
and  at  one  in  the  morning  we  reached 
Biarritz,  without  having  exhausted  the  cup 
of  pleasure.  This  day  will  remain  in  the 
memory  of  all  as  a  sweet  and  pleasurable 
remembrance.  I  shall  always  regret  that  I 
could  not  share  such  moments  with  my  dear 
Octavie  and  my  little  ones. 

I  should  like  to  end  this  letter  with  an 
accpunt  of  an  excursion  made  a  few  days 
182 


VrKf^r 


X 


KEY,   PKINCE   DE   LA    MOSKOWA. 
By  DOisay. 


Fontarabia 

earlier  to  Fontarabia,  in  Spain.  Time 
presses,  the  hour  for  the  courier  approaches, 
and  I  do  not  want,  my  dearest,  to  leave 
you  longer  without  news.  However,  I  will 
try. 

Well,  one  fine  day  we  boarded  a  steamer 
and  set  off  past  the  lonely  plains  of  the 
Spanish  coast.  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
escape  sea-sickness  ;  but  indeed  there  was 
no  reason  to  be  ill.  The  sea  was  calm,  and 
except  for  a  few  showers  sent  us  by  the 
clouds,  the  crossing  was  very  pleasant. 
•We  landed  at  Fontarabia,  opposite  Hendaye 
(where  the  brandy  of  that  name  used  to  be 
made),  close  to  Irun,  and  not  far  from  the 
famous  lie  des  Faisans,  memorable  by 
reason  of  the  marriage  agreement  of 
Louis  XIV. 

The  country  is  beautiful,  but  the  eye  is 
saddened  by  the  sight  of  Fontarabia,  which 
is  merely  a  black  and  melancholy  ruin.  A 
frontier  town,  fortified,  alternately  taken  and 
retaken,  the  first  to  receive  the  shock  of 
cannon-balls,    often    suffering   a   change    of 

183 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

masters,  it  leaves  an  impression  of  unbear- 
able sadness  in  the  mind.  The  town  is 
small ;  it  takes  but  little  time  to  walk  round 
it.  The  atmosphere  of  old  Spain  is  perfect. 
The  place  used  formerly  to  be  inhabited, 
during  the  fine  season,  by  a  host  of  noble 
personages  who  had  superb  houses,  of  an 
excellent  style  of  architecture,  ornamented 
with  their  coats -of -ai«ns  cut  in  the  stone. 
All  this  is  very  interesting,  and  I  am  very 
glad  to  have  seen  the  place  despite  its 
melancholy. 

Having  traversed  the  main  street  and 
visited  the  church,  we  watched  a  company 
of  Spanish  soldiers  manoeuvring,  and  then 
entered  a  sort  of  cafe  or  restaurant  (the 
Posada  of  Melchior  Sagarzadu),  where  we 
were  served  with  chocolate,  bad  pastry,  and 
detestable  water.  During  our  walk  we  were 
surrounded  by  the  authorities  of  the  country 
and  a  multitude  in  rags,  dirty,  and  stinking 
as  violently  as  stinks  can  stink,  preceded 
by  an  amateur  band  which  favoured  us  with 
a  most  horrible  cacophony.  All  this  was 
184 


Voyage  of  the  Pelican 

neither  pretty  nor  agreeable,  but  it  was  not 
lacking  in  the  picturesque. 

Finally  we  re -embarked  and  set  out  for 
Biarritz,  the  dinner-hour  being  long  past 
and  the  sea  much  less  calm  than  on  our 
arrival.  Then,  oh,  then,  faces  grew  pale, 
turned  green,  and  lengthened,  and  sea- 
sickness invaded  the  Pelican — such  is  the 
name  of  our  boat— a*id  once  in  sight  of 
Biarritz  the  anchor  was  dropped,  and  we 
waited  to  be  put  ashore  and  escape  from  the 
torments  of  the  sea  ;  but  the  sea  was  too 
rough  ;  and  the  boats  which  tried  to  get 
alongside  were  no  sooner  at  the  vessel's  side 
than  they  flew  up  in  the  air  or  down  in  the 
trough .  The  ladies  lost  all  their  energy ; 
their  huge  cages  made  it  impossible  to  get 
down  into  the  boats.  The  Pelican  per- 
severingly  danced  at  her  anchor  ;  the  sea- 
sickness redoubled ;  ...  an  hour  and  a 
half  was  lost,  then  the  anchor  was  raised,  and 
we  steered  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Adour. 
More  sea-sickness  ;  hitherto  I  had  resisted, 
but  now    .    .    .  my  head  whirled,  my  heart 

185 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

floundered;  and  very  secretly,  very  dis- 
creetly, I  returned  to  the  sea  a  little  of  Senor 
Zagarzadu's  bad  cup  of  chocolate.  Imme- 
diately relieved,  I  landed  from  the  Pelican, 
quite  proud  of  my  prowess,  and  we  all  got 
into  open  carriages,  in  a  thrashing  rain  which 
accompanied  us  all  the  way  to  Biarritz ;  it 
was  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  Dinner  had 
been  waiting  for  us  since  seven.  It  was 
devoured,  in  spite  of  sea-sickness,  and  next 
day  some  one— I  don't  know  who— wrote 
some  verses,  as  bad  as  possible,  but  I 
send  them  as  they  are  rather  amusing. 

PARTI E   DE  FONTARABIE   SUR   LE   PELICAN, 

Aujourd'hui  vendredi 
A  une  heure  et  demie, 
Rendez-vous  a  une  heure 
Sur  le  port  des  pecheurs, 
Larifla  fla  fla. 
Larifla. 

De  cet  ordre  en  retard 
Qui  vous  previent  qu'on  part, 
L'execution  pour  vous 
C'est  done :  Debrouillez  vous. 
Larifla. 

i86 


"  Partie  de  Fontarabie  " 

Deux  maris  tres  prudents 
Songeant  a  leurs  enfants 
Laissent  leurs  femmes  s'embarquer 
Et  courir  des  dangers. 
Larifla. 

"  Si  nous  perdons  nos  femmes, 
Que  Dieu  sauve  leurs  ames, 
Pourvu  que  nos  bambins 
Ne  soient  pas  orphelins," 
Larifla. 

Sclafani  I'amiral, 
De  mer  craignant  le  mal, 
Dit  :  Je  suis  general 
Et  .  .  .  je  monte  a  cheval. 
Larifla. 

Un  officier  de  ter 
Sujet  au  mal  de  mer 
Avant  que  1'  clairon  sonne 
S'est  sauve  a  Bayonne. 
Larifla. 

Passons  les  accidents 
De  notre  embarquement. 
Et  nous  voila  partis 
Tous  pour  Fontarabie 
Larifla. 


187 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Soudain  I'orage  gronde, 
Le  vent  souleve  I'onde, 
Le  commandant  s'ecrie  : 
Ouvrez  vos  parapluies. 
Larifla. 

Au  son  d'une  musique 
Mauvaise  et  fantastique, 
Nous  tournons  le  rempart 
Crible  de  part  en  part. 
Larifla. 

Dans  une  posada 
On  prend  le  chocolat 
Que  le  beau  Teresa 
Promptement  fabriqua. 
Larifla. 

Puis  le  temps  mena^ant 
Et  le  del  se  couvrant, 
A  six  heures  sonnant 
Se  fait  1'  rembarquement. 
Larifla. 

Rien  a  mettre  sous  la  dent, 
Car  le  beau  Pelican 
S'est  par  per9e  le  flanc 
Pour  nourrir  ses  enfants. 
Larifla. 
I88 


"  Partie  de  Fontarabie  " 

Sitot  appareille, 
On  commence  a  rouler 
Ce  qui  ote  la  gaite 
A  six  dames  invitees. 
Larifla. 

De  notre  souveraine 
La  figure  est  sereine, 
Elle  brave  les  elements 
Et  navigue  en  chantant. 
Larifla. 

Une  marquise  blonde 
Dit  que  meme  sur  I'onde 
Un  chasseur  avec  art 
Peut  lancer  un  renard. 
Larifla. 

Sur  une  main  auguste 
Qui  lui  soutient  le  buste. 
Soudain  elle  se  penche 
Disant:  Gar'  I'avalanche 
Larifla. 

La  fragile  Adrienne 
Avant  qu'on  la  soutienne 
Sur  le  pont  a  tombe 
Et  ne  s'est  rien  casse. 
Larifla. 


iS.9 


Empress  Engenie  and  her  Circle 

Bon  dieu  !  Quel  patatra  ! 
Qu'est  ce  done  que  cela  ! 
C'est  la  princesse  Anna 
Et  madame  Waleska. 
Larifla. 


Mam'  de  la  Bedoyere 
Est  etendue  par  terre  ; 
On  lui  offre  un  coussin 
Mais  eir  ne  repond  rien. 
Larifla. 

En  memoire  de  la  flotte 
La  ravissante  Clotte 
Dedaign'  les  p'tits  bateaux 
Et  prefere  au  vaisseau. 
Larifla. 

La  marquise  Marie 
Un  pen  abasourdie 
Sent  la  premiere  douleur 
Qui  ait  atteint  son  coeur. 
Larifla. 

Que  Dieu  me  le  pardonne, 
A  la  mer  je  le  donne, 
II  etait  a  Camille, 
9a  ne  sort  pas  de  la  famille. 
Larifla. 

r90 


"  Partie  de  Fontarabie 

Mais  voici  qu'on  arrive 
Un  peu  a  la  derive. 
Les  coeurs  tous  soulages 
Demandent  a  diner. 
Larifla. 

Mais  helas,  on  apprend 
Que  tout  en  s'inquietant 
Et  Mocquart  et  Tascher 
L'ont  a  moitie  mange. 
Larifla. 


191 


XXXI 

29  September,  1858 

The  day  before  yesterday,  at  ten  o'clock,  we 
embarked  on  the  Coligny,  and,  followed  by 
the  Pelican,  having  unfurled  the  Imperial 
colours,  we  set  off  in  magnificent  weather. 
The  sea  was  absolutely  calm  ;  but  the  swell 
was  high,  and  our  light  vessel  rolled  in  a 
fashion  very  annoying  to  the  susceptible. 
I  was  only  able  to  avoid  sickness  by  remain- 
ing on  the  bridge,  by  the  captain,  high  above 
the  centre  of  the  vessel.  There  the  move- 
ment is  less  and  one  breathes  the  cool  air, 
very  welcome  in  such  a  case.  In  this  way 
I  contented  myself  with  feeling  extremely 
ill,  and  of  course  I  could  not  possibly  eat. 
But  when  after  two  hours  we  arrived  at  San 
Sebastien,  while  we  were  in  the  roadstead, 
and  guns  were  being  fired  and  boats  put  off, 
192 


San  Sebastien 

I  munched  a  wing  of  partridge,  took  a  glass 
of  wine,  swallowed  a  few  raisins,  and  thus 
ballasted  I  was  able  to  come  down. 

We  were  received  with  much  pomp  by 
a  numerous  population,  headed  by  the 
authorities.  We  passed  through  the  streets 
between  two  hedges  of  Spanish  troops  and 
were  conducted  to  a  church  of  most 
singular  architecture,  such  as  I  do  not 
think  we  have  in  Paris ;  thence  to  the 
town  hall  and  the  central  piazza,  the  arrange- 
ment of  which  is  very  curious  and  unusual ; 
it  is  intended  for  bull-fights. 

The  harbour  is  fine,  and  might  be  of 
great  service  if  kept  in  good  condition. 
What  I  was  able  to  see  of  the  surrounding 
country  seemed  pleasant. 

Before  leaving  the  Emperor  wanted  to 
give  a  sum  of  money  for  the  poor  of  the 
town,  but  it  was  proudly  refused  ;  he  was 
told  that  there  were  no  poor.  Spanish  pride 
hides  its  sufferings  ;  it  was  easy  to  see,  at 
many  a  gaily-decked  window,  that  opulence 
does  not  reign  throughout  the  town.  But 
N  193 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

if  this  pride  were  the  result  of  municipal 
charity  and  properly  distributed  labour  who 
would  presume  to  rebuke  it? 

Well,  we  re-embarked  to  the  sound  of 
cannon  and  set  off  accompanied  by  the 
frantic  shouts  of  the  multitude  ;  then,  after 
an  hour  and  a  half,  we  arrived  at  Zumaya, 
a  small  fishing  village.  The  landing  is 
difficult,  large  vessels  remaining  in  the  open  ; 
boats  put  out  to  take  us  off,  and  after  fifteen 
minutes'  rowing  landed  us  in  the  little 
harbour.  There  we  found  two  indifferent 
diligences,  the  oldest  and  most  out-of-date 
vehicles  you  could  wish  to  see,  and  a  dread- 
ful open  wagonette  which  the  Emperor 
mounted,  driving  his  ridiculous  turn-out 
himself.  We  squeezed  into  our  diligences 
as  well  as  we  could,  crack  went  the  whips, 
and  off  we  went  at  a  trot  into  the  heart  of 
Spain.  What  a  beautiful  country,  what 
splendid  mountains  !  I  could  see  a  few 
crags  piercing  the  verdure ;  and  as  we 
rushed  by  I  noticed  some  flowers,  which  I 
wish  I  could  have  brought  you.  We  passed 
194 


A  Strange  Turn-out 

villages  built  of  dark  stone,  the  roofs  covered 
with  tiles  of  a  deep  red.  These  villages 
have  a  sad  and  gloomy  aspect  which  con- 
trasts sharply  with  the  beauty  of  nature,  and 
gives  one  a  chill  at  the  heart.  At  last,  after 
a  drive  of  two  hours,  we  arrived  at  Loyola, 
where  we  were  received  by  a  troop  of 
soldiers,  who  surrounded  the  Emperor's 
trap,  following  it  because  it  was  His 
Majesty's.  The  sight  was  grotesque,  and 
the  Emperor  could  not  refrain  from  laugh- 
ing. The  fact  is  he  was  driving  a  dilapidated 
trap,  drawn  by  two  miserable  hacks  ;  whip 
in  hand,  hat  a  little  on  one  side,  according 
to  his  habit ;  preceded  by  an  uncouth  band, 
and  surrounded  by  running  soldiers,  he 
presented  the  most  extraordinary  spectacle. 
I  was  behind,  on  the  box  of  the  diligence, 
so  that  I  saw  the  performance  from  the 
best  seats.  My  neighbour  whispered  in  my 
ear:  "Droll,  isn't  it?  The  Emperor  looks 
for  all  the  world  like  a  quack  introducing 
himself  to  the  public  !  "  and  unfortunately 
it  was  true  ;    the  comparison  rose  in  one's 

195 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

mind  unbidden.  Having  passed  through 
a  straggling  village  in  this  order,  we  resumed 
our  journey,  and  very,  soon  saw  the  valley 
opening  out ;  and  on  the  floor  of  the  valley, 
surrounded  by  beautiful  mountains,  the 
seminary  of  St.  Ignatius  de  Loyola,  where 
some  hundred  and  fifty  priests  live  and 
pursue   their   clerical   education. 

I  hesitate  to  describe  this  :  apart  from 
the  fact  that  I  have  hardly  the  time,  it  was 
so  affecting,  so  replete  with  memories  of 
many  kinds,  that  it  would  need  another  pen 
than  mine  to  describe  this  magnificent  cupola 
rising  from  the  wilderness.  All  the  interior 
is  in  marble,  marble  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  most  varied  qualities  ;  a  veritable 
mosaic  of  marble,  of  the  size  of  the  Val-de- 
Grace  in  Paris.  The  architecture  is  as  rich 
as  it  is  scholarly.  This  wilderness  contains 
a  marvel,  which  seemed  to  me  above  any- 
thing that  Paris  can  offer  of  this  kind. 
Unhappily  the  church  and  the  convent  are 
not  finished;  money  is  lacking.  In  the 
convent  premises  is  included  the  house  which 

196 


Loyola 

was  occupied  by  St.  Ignatius,  when,  being 
wounded,  he  quitted  the  mihtary  service  to 
be  converted  and  to  become  a  priest.  I 
saw  the  chapel  where  St.  Francis  de  Borgia, 
one  of  the  ancestors  of  Comtesse  Sclafani, 
the  Empress's  cousin,  said  his  first  mass  ; 
many  other  memorable  things,  which  we 
passed  too  rapidly  considering  their  im- 
portance. Of  this  visit,  too  short  and 
incomplete  as  it  was,  I  shall  retain  a 
memory  as  of  one  of  the  landmarks  of 
my  life. 

But  it  was  night,  and  we  had  to  leave 
this  beautiful  spot.  We  were  far  from  our 
vessels .  After  a  light  meal  we  set  off ;  all 
the  villages  were  illuminated  ;  the  kow-tow- 
ing was  not  over  yet.  At  last,  at  half -past 
ten,  we  embarked.  We  dined  ;  no,  I  did 
not ;  I  made  an  attempt,  but  it  was  im- 
possible ;  the  wretched  rolling  prevented 
me.  I  went  up  to  station  myself  on  the 
bridge  again,  where,  well  wrapped  in  my 
overcoat  and  rug,  I  fell  into  a  sound 
sleep,      which      lasted     till     we     were     in 

197 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

sight    of    Biarritz,    at   half-past    two  in   the 
morning. 

(In  1859  the  Prince  Imperial  was  sent  to 
Biarritz  alone,  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
following   later.) 


198 


XXXII 

Biarritz,  20  August,  1859 

For  some  time  before  leaving  Saint-Cloud, 
and  even  while  in  Paris,  the  health  of  the 
Prince  had  not  been  as  good  as  usual.  From 
time  to  time,  almost  every  day,  I  believe, 
patches  of  nettlerash  appeared,  and  he  was 
somewhat  pale,  and  irritable,  and  very  "  con- 
trary "  ;  meanwhile,  on  the  1 4th  and  i  5th 
of  August  there  were  children's  parties, 
performances,  receptions,  and  therefore 
fatigues  disproportioned  to  the  age  of  the 
child,  for  he  is  only  three  and  a  half  years 
old.  From  this  cause  arose  a  condition  of 
cerebral  excitement,  easily  produced  in  an 
intelligent  nature ;  taking  in  everything, 
understanding  everything,  trying  to  account 
for  everything,  even  things  beyond  his  age  ; 

199 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

always  asking  questions  ;  wanting  to  know 
the  why  and  wherefore  of  things  ;  making 
comparisons  and  appUcations  of  astonish- 
ing justness  in  one  so  young. 

On  the  top  of  the  cerebral  and  bodily 
fatigue  caused  by  these  ceremonies,  which 
were  excessive  and  untimely,  came  that 
caused  by  the  journey  to  Biarritz.  The 
Prince  slept  little,  and  was  excited  ;  I  found 
him  pale  ;  his  eyes  had  circles  round  them . 
However,  he  had  plenty  of  spirit,  gaiety,  and 
appetite  ;  his  digestion  was  normal ;  there 
was  no  fever,  and  the  nettlerash  was  no 
longer  visible. 

However,  on  the  evening  of  the  i8th,  on 
the  day  of  our  arrival,  there  was  ocular 
evidence  of  imperfect  digestion,  which  I 
did  not  see,  and  which  Miss  Shaw  attributed 
to  the  change  of  diet  during  the  journey. 

He  had  a  good  night,  and  next  day  plenty 
of  appetite,  and  was  obviously  cheerful  and 
hearty,  although  a  trifle  pale. 

During  the  day  the  Prince  was  taken  out ; 
but  his  walk  was  stupidly  cut  short  by 
200 


THE   PKINCE   IMI'EKIAL. 


To  (ace  p.  Joo. 


The  Prince  Indisposed 

squabbles  between  Mme.  de  Brandon  and 
Miss  Shaw.  The  first  rightly  wished  to  take 
the  Prince  to  some  part  sheltered  from  the 
sun  ;  the  second,  wishing  to  have  the  best 
of  it,  and  therefore  to  oppose  the  other, 
wanted  to  place  the  Prince  out  in  the  sun, 
under  the  shade  of  a  parasol ;  and  there 
she  did  have  him  for  some  time,  afterwards 
taking  him  to  the  more  sheltered  portions 
of  the  Park,  where  the  sun  is  very  hot,  and 
one  feels  no  refreshing  breeze  from  the  sea. 
The  Prince  felt  uncomfortable,  and  asked 
to  be  taken  in  ;  they  did  not  notice  he  was 
uncomfortable,  and  forced  him  to  stay  where 
he  was  some  time  longer.  Finally,  on  his 
insisting,  they  took  him  in,  and  before 
passing  the  threshold  he  brought  up  his 
dinner.    .    .    . 


20 1 


XXXIII 

21  August,  1859 

The  trifling  indisposition  has  passed  off. 
.  .  .  But  I  learn  that  Miss  Shaw  has  had 
a  piece  of  fried  pork  sent  up  to  the  Prince. 
It  is  a  mania  with  her  to  make  him  eat 
fat  pork  when  he  is  ill.  When  he  was  six 
months  old  she  had  given  it  to  him,  and 
again  to-day,  in  spite  of  my  orders.    .    .    . 


20^, 


XXXIV 

9  September,  1859 

We  are  just  going  out ;  we  shall  go  for  a 
long  drive  with  the  Prince.  Miss  Shaw  has 
persuaded  the  little  fellow  to  ask  General 
Rolin  to  take  him  to  Saint -Jean -de -Luz, 
and  as  every  one  here  wants  to  be  on  good 
terms  with  Miss  Shaw,  the  General  has  given 
way.  The  Court  is  a  queer  place.  And 
what  a  singular  training  for  this  dear  little 
fellow,  so  well  endowed  as  he  is  I  Nature 
has  done  much  for  him.  He  has  qualities 
of  intelligence  and  heart  of  which  the  germ 
is  already  apparent.  But  they  will  spoil 
everything ;  you  would  think  there  was  a 
conspiracy  to  do  so.' 

'  In  confirmation  of  what  I  have  written  in  this 
letter,  I  copy  here  the  description  of  a  scene  which 
I  wrote  down  a  few  moments  after  witnessing  it.  It 
displays  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Prince  when 

203 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

.  .  .  We  have  returned  from  Saint -Jean- 
de-Luz ;  we  had  a  charming  excursion. 
The  Prince  enjoyed  himself,  laughing  with 
all  his  might,  partly  thanks  to  your  husband, 
who  played  with  him  all  the  way.  This  will 
give    you    an     idea    of    the    little     chap's 

quite  a  little  child  (he  was  then  three  or  four  years  old) 
and  also  the  flattery  with  which  he  was  overwhelmed 
at  this  period. 

A  sailor's  costume  had  been  made  for  the  Prince,  in 
which  he  looked  quaint  and  altogether  charming. 
After  lunch,  being  thus  clad  and  extremely  merry, 
he  began  to  jump  to  the  sound  of  the  piano,  and  did  so 
very  well  for  his  age,  inventing  little  steps,  and  varying 
them,  with  such  droll  little  gestures  that  it  was  all  one 
could  do  not  to  laugh.  Several  did  laugh,  and  admired 
him  openly  with  great  emphasis.  Their  Majesties 
encouraged  and  stimulated  the  Prince  in  this  very 
innocent  diversion.  But  His  Highness  grew  excited, 
lost  his  head,  and  began  to  look  for  admiration  and 
applause  in  the  faces  of  all  present.  From  this  I  con- 
clude that  he  will  be  fond  of  shoviring  himself  to 
advantage,  and  will  not  disdain  flattery  ;  perhaps  will 
seek  it. 

His  mother  began  to  dance  as  well,  wishing  to  show 
him  some  steps.  She  did  so,  so  prettily  and  gracefully 
that  the  Emperor  showed  his  pleasure  by  a  hearty 
204 


Jealousy 

character  :  all  along  the  road  we  kept  on 
meeting  women  and  children,  running  about 
and  shouting,  and  among  them  a  good  many 
poor,  to  whom  the  General  threw  a  few 
coins.      He  gave  so  many  that  at   last  he 

caress.  The  Prince  at  once  assumed  an  expression  of 
gravity,  and  his  dancing  became  less  spontaneous.  He 
evidently  felt  jealous,  his  instinct  urging  him  to  make 
himself  the  sole  centre  of  admiration,  and  perhaps 
of  affection. 

The  Empress,  without  noticing  this  change,  wished 
to  continue  this  little  dancing  lesson,  and  accordingly 
took  M.  de  Riencourt's  arm.  Hardly  had  she  com- 
menced when  the  Prince  flung  himself  upon  her  in 
order  to  stop  her,  and  began  to  tug  and  tug  at  M.  de 
Riencourt,  until  the  latter  fell  to  the  ground,  pretend- 
ing to  be  the  weaker.  There  the  scene  ended.  But  the 
Prince  did  not  resume  his  play,  and  when  some  one 
spoke  to  him  began  to  weep  scalding  tears  ;  it  was 
impossible  to  console  him.  So  this  little  fellow, 
already  nervous  and  passionate,  is  jealous  of  his 
mother ;  for  that  matter  I  have  noticed  as  much  on 
other  occasions.  Very  naturally,  as  a  matter  of  instinct, 
despite  his  tender  age,  the  little  Prince  has  always 
shown  that  he  does  not  like  any  one  but  the  Emperor 
to  give  his  arm  to  the  Empress.  I  should  say  he  is 
jealous  not  so  much  of  affection  as  authority,  experience 

205 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

grew  weary  and  ceased.  Some  time  later 
an  urchin  began  to  run  barefoot  after  the 
carriage  ;  it  is  the  common  custom  to  go 
barefoot  here.  The  Prince  saw  this  and 
said:  "Why  no  boats?"  (that  is  his  way 
of  pronouncing  boots  ').  I  replied,  "  Because 
he  has  no  money  to  buy  any."  At  once  the 
little  man  turned  to  the  General,  and 
demanded  :  "  Money."  Not  wanting  to  give 
him   any,   the   General    tried   to   divert   his 

having  at  a  very  early  date  put  such  ideas  into  his  Httle 
head. 

So  our  Httle  Prince  is  already  jealous  of  his  authority 
and  his  position,  and  he  loves  and  seeks  personal 
admiration.  If  these  two  instincts  are  dealt  with 
understandingly  they  may  be  turned  into  qualities  ;  but 
they  might  become  faults.  Firstly,  because  of  the  flat- 
tery and  admiration  which  surround  him  on  every  side, 
and  secondly,  on  account  of  the  weakness  of  his  father, 
who  loves  the  dear  child  so  tenderly,  and,  I  fear,  will 
never  have  the  strength  to  resist  him  ;  thirdly,  on 
account  of  the  character  of  his  mother,  who,  more  apt 
to  resist  the  child  than  the  Emperor,  does  not  seem  to 
have  the  power  of  resisting  him  in  a  sensible  manner, 
which  might  be  useful  and  efficacious. 

•  French,  botines  for  bollines. 
206 


A  Characteristic  Incident 

attention:  "See  there.  Isn't  that  pretty? 
What  a  fine  carriage  !  "  and  so  forth.  But 
no,  he  hadn't  heard  the  end  of  it  yet.  The 
Prince  replied  politely,  then  pulled  the 
General's  sleeve,  then  cried  to  the  postilion, 
"  Slower  !  "  and  then  again  and  again  : 
"  Money  I  "  so  that  at  last  the  General  had 
to  stop  the  carriage  and  give  him  money, 
which  he  threw  to  the  boy  ;  and  when  every 
one  was  settled  again  and  we  had  forgotten 
the  matter  he  turned  to  me  with  great 
solemnity  and  said,  "  Present  to  buy  boats." 
He  is  three  and  a  half,  and  this  is  just 
as  it  happened.  Obstinate,  persistent,  good- 
hearted. 


207 


XXXV 

17  September,  1859 

As  you  know,  we  have  the  King  of  the 
Belgians  here,  who  seems  to  be  enjoying 
himself  .  .  .  much  to  the  ennui  of  our 
Majesties.  I  tell  you  this  in  confidence;  I 
dare  hardly  trust  it  to  paper  ;  for  who  knows 
what  disasters  might  result  from  such  in^ 
discretion  ?  After  all,  it  is  an  open  secret ; 
we  are  bored  at  the  villa.  Yesterday  I  dined 
there.  I  was  almost  opposite  the  King  and 
had  a  good  view  of  his  long  and  serious 
face.  He  has  the  appearance  of  a  perfect 
gentleman.  He  honoured  me  with  a 
gracious  smile  and  a  very  amiable  remark 
which  I  thought  was  to  the  effect  that  I 
was  wonderfully  well.  The  idea  seemed  so 
absurd  that  I  replied,  yes,  the  Prince 
Imperial  was  very  well  indeed.  I  would 
208 


Le   Grand  Monde 

rather  speak  of  him  than  of  myself  and  my 
flourishing  health.  ...  In  this  connection, 
I  have  been  told  of  a  remark  made  by  an 
English  lady  in  Biarritz  which  is  rather 
amusing.  Here  everybody  crowds  to  see 
the  Prince  as  best  they  can.  Some  friends 
begged  her,  although  she  is  rather  a  cross- 
grained  person,  to  profit  by  an  occasion 
when  he  was  on  the  beach  to  approach  and 
have  a  look  at  him.  She  came  up,  and 
turned  back  again,  saying  :  "  My  good  girls, 
what  are  you  thinking  of?  It  was  hardly 
worth  while  to  disturb  me  to  see  a  pale,  ugly 
child."  .  .  .  Now  I  will  reply  to  your 
letter. 

.  .  .  There  is  some  truth  in  what  is  being 
said  of  Biarritz,  that  it  has  never  been  so 
favoured  by  the  presence  of  the  grand  monde. 
King  Leopold,  Prince  Oldenburg,  who  has 
a  suite  of  about  fifteen  persons,  twenty  or 
twenty-five  Russian  princes,  the  Prince  of 
Monaco,  and  a  crowd  of  notabilities,  cele- 
brities, and  other  sorts  of  deities  now  orna- 
ment the  little  town,  which  contains  four 
o  209 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

thousand  foreigners.  People  lodge  in  mere 
holes,  which  are  rented  at  fabulous  prices. 
This  does  not  prevent  the  place  from  being 
exceedingly  dull,  as  we  have  had  horrible 
weather ;  no  one  goes  out,  because  it  is 
raining,  or  because  it  is  cold,  or  because  it 
is  too  hot,  &c.,  &c.  There  is  indeed  quite 
a  well-furnished  Turkish  bazaar  here  ;  the 
wares  plentiful,  and  dear  in  proportion'.  .  .  . 


2IO 


XXXVI 

20  September,  1859 

Your  letter  reached  me  last  night,  dear  wife, 
as  we  were  returning  from  an  expedition  by 
sea.  The  Imperial  yacht,  the  Algle,  which 
their  Majesties  intend  to  use  for  such 
excursions,  has  come  from  Cherbourg  ex- 
pressly to  be  inspected.  We  have  not  failed 
to  visit  her.  She  is  a  large  vessel,  luxuri- 
ously fitted  and  equipped.  We  travelled 
some  twenty  miles  in  her,  the  weather  being 
superb.  No  one  was  ill,  and  all  went  off 
capitally.  We  landed  at  Cape  Breton, 
where  the  Emperor  is  having  certain  works 
executed  with  the  idea  of  creating  a  harbour 
of  refuge  in  this  wretched  Bay  of  Biscay, 
which  vessels  are  forced  to  avoid,  so  in- 
hospitable are  its  shores.  At  a  little  distance 
from   the  spot  where   we   landed  we  found 

21 1 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  carriages,  near  the  villages.  Almost  lost 
in  the  midst  of  a  forest  of  pines  and  cork- 
oaks,  planted  with  poplars  and  very  fine 
plane-trees,  this  little  village,  with  its 
moderately  clean  and  tidy  houses,  is  not 
without  a  certain  charm,  and  is  pleasing  to 
look  at.  The  road  leading  thence  to 
Bayonne  is  very  pleasant.  It  was  the  early 
evening  ;  the  air  was  balmy  with  the  odour 
of  trees  and  flowers.  At  intervals  the  forest 
of  cork-trees  and  pines  receded  in  a  clear- 
ing which  revealed  a  glimpse  of  some  pool 
whose  waters  reflected  the  last  rays  of  the 
setting  sun,  together  with  the  trees  and  the 
abundant  aquatic  plants  upon  its  banks. 
We  saw,  too,  a  little  rustic  cottage,  built  on 
the  edge  of  such  a  pond,  with  its  blue  smoke 
escaping  from  the  chimney.  The  calm  of 
evening,  the  slight  vagueness  of  the  lights 
and  shadows  of  increasing  twilight,  the 
forest  and  its  odours,  the  trampling  of  the 
horses,  and  the  almost  rhythmical  tinkling 
of  their  bells,  lulled  me  into  one  of  those 
delightful  reveries  in  which  only  one  thing 

212 


A  Pleasant  Road 

is  lacking  to  make  happiness  perfect :  I 
wanted  only  my  darling's  hand  pressing 
mine,  and  receiving  my  emotion  and  reveal- 
ing hers. 

Then  came  the  deafening  shouts,  the 
hurrahs,  the  uproar  and  turmoil  of  the 
populations  of  Saint-Esprit  and  Bayonne, 
who,  warned  some  hours  earlier  by  the  pass- 
ing of  the  Imperial  carriages,  had  improvised 
a  reception,  with  illuminations,  acclamations, 
gesticulations,  and  other  performances,  which 
woke  me  from  my  dream.  Thus  recalled 
to  every-day  life,  I  marvelled  at  the  general 
enthusiasm,  and  at  the  same  time  discovered 
it  was  late,  the  night  had  come,  and  dinner 
was  still  far  off. 


213 


XXXVII 

21  September,  1859 

To  My  Daughter  Christine, 

Why,  yes,  good  Heavens,  my  dear 
Christolette,  I  have  the  happiness  of  seeing 
the  Emperor,  I  have  the  happiness  of  speak- 
ing to  him,  and  yesterday  I  had  the  happi- 
ness of  taking  a  walk  almost  alone  with 
him  and  his  Pyrenean  dog.  He  was  a  little 
unwell,  our  Emperor,  and  I  have  sent  him 
to  bed,  this  unhappy  Emperor.  The 
Empress  and  her  friends  had  taken  the 
opportunity  of  going  for  an  outing,  and  as 
I  was  loafing  in  the  garden,  smoking  my 
cigar,  I  heard  myself  hailed  by  a  well-known 
voice,  which  cried  at  its  loudest :  "  Hi, 
doctor,  doctor  !  "  It  was  the  Emperor,  who 
was  disobeying  orders,  and  who  said  to  me 
as  simply  as  the  most  ordinary  of  mortals  : 
214 


shedding  an  Emperor's  Blood 

"Let's  go  for  a  walk."  For  he  speaks  just 
like  any  one  else,  you  may  take  my  word  for 
it,  and  he  has  not  always  got  his  crown  on 
his  head.  I  believe  his  shouts  attracted  one 
of  the  aides,  and  the  three  of  us  scoured  the 
fields  and  pastures,  jumping  the  brooks, 
laughing,  and  talking,  and  even  splashing 
about  with  the  dog,  who  was  our  only  escort. 
Aren't  you  fit  to  kill  yourself,  Christine, 
because  you  weren't  there? 

As  a  result  of  having  disobeyed  orders 
our  Emperor  is  worse,  and  I  had  the 
honour,  the  great  honour,  of  treating  him 
and  placing  some  wet  cupping-glasses  to  the 
nape  of  his  neck.  Yes,  O  Christine,  I  have 
shed  his  sacred  blood  I  I  have  just  finished 
doing  so,  and  as  it  is  midnight  I  am  going 
to  finish  this  letter  too. 


215 


XXXVIII 

24  Seftember,  1859 

.  .  .  For  the  moment,  my  pretty,  I  am  alone 
in  the  villa.  The  Empress  has  gone  for  a 
long  steamer  excursion,  and  will  be  back 
no  one  knows  when.  I  refused  to  take  part 
in  it.  On  the  whole  I  hardly  get  any 
pleasure  out  of  it ;  I  pass  the  time  strug- 
gling against  sea-sickness,  which  I  always 
feel  is  on  the  point  of  attacking  me.  I 
decided  to  remain,  especially  as  the  Emperor 
is  unwell,  and  did  not  care  to  go  with  the 
Empress.  At  present  he  has  gone  out  for 
a  drive.  ...  I  managed  to  resist  the 
allurements  of  the  Empress,  who  wanted  me 
to  go  on  the  boat.  She  told  me  to  come 
with  her  ;  but  I  stuck  out  that  I  preferred 
to  remain,  as  the  Emperor  did  so.  And, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  not  able  to 
get  back  until  two  in  the  morning.  They 
216 


ACHILLE   FOULD. 


To  face  p.  217. 


The  Court  at  Sea 

were  stuck  four  hours  in  front  of  the  town, 
tossing  up  and  down  in  their  cockle-shell, 
unable  to  land,  but  obliged  finally  to  make 
for  the  Adour  ;  all  this  time  the  Emperor 
came  and  went  between  Biarritz  and  the  bar 
(it  is  half  an  hour's  drive  behind  a  good 
horse).  In  this  way  the  night  went  by. 
It  appears  that  all  were  sea-sick.  I  have 
not  heard  the  details  yet,  as  I  went  to  bed 
half  an  hour  before  their  arrival,  and  this 
morning  they  are  all  plunged  in  the  pro- 
foundest  sleep. 

You  can  imagine  what  sort  of  an  even- 
ing we  spent  while  our  gracious  sovereign 
was  tossing  on  the  sea.  We  were  a  very 
small  party  at  dinner  :  the  Emperor,  Mme. 
de  Cadore,  Mme.  de  Brancion,  who  scarcely 
ever  goes  out  and  is  not  exactly  amusing — no 
one  takes  much  notice  of  her— M.  Fould  the 
Minister,  His  Majesty's  aide,  and  the  excel- 
lent and  original  M.  Mocquart.  There 
were  so  few  of  us  that  I  did  not  withdraw 
after  dinner  ;  with  such  a  small  number  I 
felt   I  must  be  sociable.      In  a  moment  of 

217 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

boredom  I  sat  down  to  write  Sophie  the 
very  useless  letter  she  received ;  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  write  seriously.  About 
ten  o'clock  the  boat  signalled  its  arrival  and 
made  some  preparations  for  landing  the 
passengers.  It  was  a  dark  night;  we 
could  only  judge  of  what  was  going  on  by 
the  light  of  the  lanterns  on  the  masts  ;  that  is, 
we  could  see  two  points  of  light  rising,  fall- 
ing, and  swaying.  Evidently  the  vessel  was 
having  rather  a  rough  time  ;  then  suddenly 
we  saw  the  points  of  light  making  their  way 
towards  the  Adour,  and  we  lost  sight  of 
them.  Thereupon  Mme.  de  Brancion  went 
off  to  bed,  and  the  Emperor,  who  had  gone 
to  the  harbour,  jumped  on  horseback  and 
made  off  towards  the  river.  Half  an  hour 
later  the  vessel  returned  ;  she  had  not  been 
able  to  cross  the  bar ;  whereupon  M .  de 
Tascher  went  off  to  bed  and  the  Emperor 
returned  from  the  Adour  and  set  off  again 
for  Biarritz  harbour.  I  remained  on  the 
terrace  with  Mme.  de  Cadore,  anxiously 
following  the  movement  of  the  lights.  It 
218 


A  Late  Return 

was  half -past  twelve  or  thereabouts  ;  the 
vessel  was  still  dancing  up  and  down,  neither 
advancing  nor  receding ;  this  might  have 
lasted  a  long  time,  so  Mme.  de  Cadore  went 
off  to  bed,  and  I  found  myself  alone  on  the 
terrace,  smoking  my  cigar,  and  watching 
the  dancing  of  the  lights,  to  which  the 
Emperor  was  replying  by  signals  made  from 
the  top  of  the  rocks  by  th»  harbour.  It 
was  half -past  one ;  the  weather  magnifi- 
cent, agreeably  mild  ;  the  stars  were  shining 
their  brightest ;  the  night  was  delightful, 
and  I  should  have  enjoyed  it  to  the  utmost 
if  I  had  not  known  that  the  Emperor  was 
running  about  the  place  at  that  hour  and  at 
a  time  when  his  health  was  far  from  being 
perfect.  Well,  the  lights  once  more  began 
to  move,  making  at  express  speed  for  the 
bar.  On  his  part  the  Emperor  did  the 
same.  It  was  certain  that  they  would  be 
able  to  cross  the  bar,  as  the  tide  was  rising 
...  so,  like  the  rest,  I  went  to  bed. 
Hardly  had  I  laid  my  head  on  the  pillow 
when  I  heard  the  noise  of  their  return. 

219 


XXXIX 

2  October,  1859 

...  I  AM  writing  absolute  nonsense  ;  I  am 
still  in  the  salon  ;  people  are  singing  and 
dancing  beside  me.  I  am  interrupted  by 
laughter  in  which  I  cannot  help  joining  ; 
for  Princess  Metternich,  wife  of  the  Austrian 
Ambassador,  is  singing  little  Parisian  songs, 
which  are  frivolous  and  broad— very  broad  ;  ' 

*  Certainly  our  bourgeois  circles,  in  their  prudery, 
would  never  endure  the  sight  of  such  peculiar  freedom 
and  frivolity  on  the  part  of  our  young  women  and  girls. 
But  I  was  told,  in  exoneration  of  this  behaviour,  which 
certainly  shocked  me  a  little  although  it  amused  me, 
that  the  education  of  the  Austrian  great  ladies,  quite 
unlike  that  of  our  young  girls,  allows  them,  in  moments 
of  relaxation  and  recreation,  a  liberty  and  a  licence 
of  a  kind  which  in  Austria  have  not  the  same  signifi- 
cance as  in  France.  With  us  such  licence  is  some- 
what plebeian  ;  but  in  Austria,  it  seems,  the  people 
know  nothing  of  it.  And  in  Austrian  society  ladies 
it  is  only  an  outward  show,  of  which  they  divest 
220 


Princess  Metternich 

and  she  is  singing  them  in  such  an  amus- 
ing style,  so  very  French,  so  very  much  the 
grisette,  that  it  is  absolutely  stupefying. 
Extraordinary  young  woman  !  And  then, 
as  there  was  talk  of  playing  charades,  I 
escaped  to  my  bedroom,  as  I  was  hardly 
in  the  mood  for  such  matters.  You  will 
ask  why.  Well,  I  am  burning  with  im- 
patience to  be  back  with  you  all,  and  back 
at  my  own  work  again.  Besides,  I  am 
worried  and  annoyed  at  the  way  things  are 
going  here .  The  Emperor  is  still  unwell ; 
I  have  not  succeeded  in  relieving  him,  and 
besides  being  naturally  worried  on  that 
account,   I   feel   that   I   am  losing  prestige. 

themselves  directly  they  return  to  every-day  life. 
And  I  have  since  then,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  happened 
to  see  Princess  Metternich  for  a  few  moments  in 
her  home  life  ;  and  I  was  struck  to  find  in  her,  not 
the  crazy  grisette  singing  risky  songs,  but  the  most 
accomplished  great  lady,  serious  in  her  manner,  and 
wrapped  up  in  her  home  and  her  children.  Here 
once  again  was  an  instance  of  what  all  the  world 
knows — that  appearances  are  deceitful,  and  that  one 
must  not  judge  of  character  by  the  behaviour  of 
a  moment. 

221 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

Yet  I  am  very  certain  that  my  lack  of 
success  is  the  fault  of  the  Emperor,  who 
has  not  the  strength  of  will  to  deprive  him- 
self of  things  he  is  fond  of  but  which  do 
him  harm.  This  lack  of  strength  and  will- 
power and  self-control  depresses  me  on  his 
account  because  I  see  him  suffering  and 
on  my  account  because  I  see  plainly  that  I 
am  losing  his  confidence.  They  all  have 
such  droll  ideas  about  medicine  !  So  I 
am  depressed ;  I  feel  incapable,  good  for 
nothing.  I  avoid  their  charades,  their  re- 
ceptions, their  excursions,  and  when  I  am 
alone  I  feel  stupid,  washed-out,  lonely.  .  .  . 
It  is  ridiculous,  I  know.  ...  Oh  well,  I 
didn't  escape  after  all.  The  Empress  sent 
for  me— I  had  to  go  and  play  at  dumb 
charades.  I  have  just  been  conscientiously 
playing  the  part  of  a  professional  thief. 
Everybody  was  very  amusing,  and  they  all 
had  a  good  laugh.  I  have  had  a  good 
grumble.  All  is  for  the  best,  except  that 
I  haven't  had  time  to  write  you  a  longer 
letter.    ... 

222 


XL 

9  October,  1859 

I  WILL  ask  you  first  of  all  whether  you 
know  who  is  the  Emperor's  physician.  You 
reply,  picking  up  the  almanack  :  physician- 
in-chief,  M.  Conneau  ;  physicians-in -ordi- 
nary, MM.  Rayer,  Andral,  &c.  All  this, 
my  dear,  is  a  mere  matter  of  form ;  the 
Emperor's  real  physician,  the  doctor  who 
gives  him  orders  which  he  obeys,  and  in 
whom  he  appears  to  have  every  confidence, 
is  M.  Leon.  You  open  your  eyes.:  who 
is  M.  Leon?  What  is  he?  You  have  not 
heard  of  this  great  physician?  Who  is  he? 
Where  does  he  live?  Is  he  to  be  found  in 
Paris,  and  has  he  at  least  a  good  consultant's 
practice  ? 

M.  L6on  is   .    .    .   His  Majesty's  valet-de- 
chambre.     This  man  rules  the  Emperor,  at 

223 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

least  in  matters  relating  to  his  health ;  I  do 
not  say  completely  and  absolutely,  but  at 
least  so  far  as  the  thing  is  feasible. 

.  .  .  And  at  the  present  moment  I  am 
in  the  bad  books  of  this  gentleman,  whose 
existence  even  I  did  not  suspect  three  days 
ago.  I  have  often  seen,  on  former  occa- 
sions, something  resembling  a  valet-de- 
chambre,  who  by  common  consent  was  never 
spoken  of,  so  I  had  scarcely  noticed  him  ; 
but  to-day  I  have  seen  him  at  work.  What 
coolness,  what  readiness,  what  impertinence, 
what  certainty  of  himself  and  his  position, 
and  what  absolute  assertions,  affirmations,  in 
matters  of  medicine  !  This  man  knows  far 
more  about  medicine  than  your  ignoramus 
of  a  husband.     I  bow  before  him. 

(There  are  no  letters  from  Biarritz  for 
the  years  i860,  1861,  and  1862,  as  Dr. 
Barthez's  family  was  then  at  Biarritz.  The 
correspondence  recommenced  in   1863.) 


224 


XLI 

Biarritz,  September,  1863 

.  .  .  After  lunch  the  Empress  began  one 
of  those  lively  and  spirited  conversations 
which  are  one  of  her  secrets,  and  which 
are  often  highly  interesting.  Hospitals  were 
the  subject,  and  the  improvements  to  be 
made  in  them.  You  will  understand  that  I 
was  all  eyes  and  ears,  and  that  I  did  not 
fail  to  contribute  my  share.  If  ybu  could 
have  heard  the  spirited  and  striking  manner 
in  which  she  expounded  her  ideas,  which 
were  mostly  excellent,  though  some  were  of 
less  value  ;  but  they  were  always  inspired 
by  the  best  intentions  ;  if  you  could  have 
heard  the  emphasis  with  which  she  com- 
plained that  she  always  sees  her  best  inspir- 
ations distorted  or  destroyed  by  all  sorts 
P.  225 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

of  causes,  and  principally  by  avalanches  of 
red-tape,  or  commissions  appointed  for  the 
purpose,  &c.  ;  if  you  could  have  heard  all 
this  you  would  say  as  I  do  :  she  is  a  good, 
charming,  intelligent  woman,  who  tries  to 
do  good  and  to  be  of  use  ;  and  if  there  is 
something  to  be  regretted  in  certain  sides  of 
her  character,  it  is  impossible  not  to  like 
this  frank,  impulsive  nature,  good  and 
anxious  to  do  good,  and  emitting,  as  it  were, 
a  shining  fountain  of  kindly  ideas,  presented 
in  lively  and  often  picturesque  language. 
But  what  is  one  to  say  to  those  who  with- 
out knowing  her  have  made  up  their  minds 
and  insist  on  judging  her  and  giving  an 
unfavourable  verdict? 


226 


XLII 

10  September f  1863 

I  SHOULD  have  liked  to  give  you  a  summary 
of  a  most  interesting  conversation  which 
took  place  yesterday  between  the  Empress 
and  MM.  Panizzi  and  M^rim^e.  It  was 
about  the  Prince  Napoleon.  But  there  are 
things  one  may  hear  yet  should  not  repeat. 
But  what  life,  what  movement,  what  bril- 
liancy !  What  a  delightful  conversation  I 
Nothing  in  our  world  could  give  you  any 
idea  of  it.  It  lasted  an  hour  and  a  half, 
and  all  that  time  the  Empress  held  us  under 
the  spell  of  her  lively,  brilliant,  picturesque 
conversation  ;  telling  us  the  most  interest- 
ing things,  retorting  energetically  to  the 
calm  and  witty  replies  of  her  interlocutors. 
This  is  the  second  time  in  about  eight  days 
that  I  have  been  present  at  one  of  these 
tournaments  of  words,  and  I  am  still  under 
the  spell  of  this  delightful  conversation. 

227 


XLIII 

13  September,  1863 

.  .  .  The  Emperor  returned  to  us  yester- 
day, and  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  Colonel  Fave  once  more.  I  appre- 
ciate him  better  every  day.  He  is  so  good, 
so  kind,  so  firm,  so  conciliatory.  'He  has 
a  witty,  observant  mind ;  he  skilfully 
analyses  every  subject  he  introduces,  and 
finally,  he  is  so  well  informed  that  with  him 
the  conversation  never  flags  and  is  always 
interesting.  Our  circle  is  therefore  com- 
plete, and  there  is  some  one  for  me  to  talk 
to  and  have  a  good  time  with.  Colonel 
Fave  and  the  Marquis  de  la  Grange,  two 
men  of  very  different  nature,  but  both 
good  fellows  :  then  the  Prince's  tutor, 
M.  Monnier,  who  readily  enters  into  long, 
interesting  conversations ;  with  him  I  can 
228 


SIR  ANTHONY   PANIZZI. 


Interesting  Guests 

talk  history  and  philosophy  and  a  little 
science  of  certain  kinds  ;  he  is  a  mine  of 
information  and  ideas,  which  are  not  difficult 
to  extract.  There  is  also  M.  Panizzi,  whose 
history  is  only  partly  known  to  me ;  he 
was,  I  believe,  forced  to  fly  from  Italy  on 
account  of  trouble  with  the  Austrians,  and 
for  years  he  was  in  England,  where  he  was 
made  director  of  the  British  Museum.  He 
is  a  tall,  stout,  powerful  man  of  sixty-five 
to  sixty-eight ;  his  manners  have  a  polite- 
ness which  is  as  exquisite  as  it  is  simple  and 
kindly  ;  he  is  witty  and  full  of  information, 
speaks  French  with  some  difficulty,  and  is 
yet  very  easy  to  talk  to.  To  these  add 
M.  M^rimee,  and  you  will  understand  that 
the  time  can  easily  be  made  to  pass  in  an 
agreeable  manner,  as  well  as  one  fruitful 
for  the  mind. 


229 


XLIV 

22  September,  1863 

At  lunch  I  was  present  at  a  very  interesting 
conversation  between  the  Emperor,  the 
Empress,  M .  M^rimee,  and  some  others,  con- 
cerning colours,  their  arrangement,  and  their 
harmonies,  as  applied  not  to  art  but  to  in- 
dustry. The  Empress  told  us  some  very 
curious  things  about  Hindoo,  Persian, 
Turkish,  and  French  colours.    .    .  . 


230 


Ylk'^^ll 


I'KOSl'KR    Ml-RIMKI 


XLV 

24  September,  1863 

The  villa  has  become  rather  deserted, 
and  consequently  a  little  depressing.  The 
chief  luminary  of  our  circle  has  departed 
in  the  direction  of  the  Upper  Pyrenees  ;  that 
is,  the  Emperor  has  gone  off  on  a  three-days' 
excursion  to  visit  the  works  which  are  being 
undertaken  at  Saint -Sauveur  and  other 
places.  He  has  taken  M.  Fave  with  him. 
At  the  same  time  the  Countess  de  Montijo, 
M.  M^rim^e,  and  M.  Panizzi  have  gone.  Our 
circle  is  thus  very  greatly  reduced,  and  at 
first  everything  seemed  very  melancholy.  It 
must  be  emphasised  that  the  Emperor 
especially  gives  life  to  the  whole  villa,  with- 
out any  fuss  and  with  the  most  perfect  sim- 
plicity. I  don't  know  if  you  can  recall  that 
portrait  of  the  Emperor  which  I  sent  you  at 

231 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  time  of  my  first  stay  here ;  you  can 
always  look  it  up  among  my  letters.  I 
scarcely  know  now  what  I  said  then,  nor 
if  I  should  have  much  to  modify  in  my  first 
appreciations.  To-day  I  should  tell  you  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  find  a  more 
equable,  agreeable,  kindly  character  than 
that  of  His  Majesty.  He  is  good  and  kind 
almost  to  the  point  of  weakness.  This  no 
doubt  astonishes  you.  Napoleon  HI.  weak  ! 
Yes,  weak,  and  with  a  weakness  which  one 
might  accompany  with  quite  another  word, 
were  it  not  that  in  spite  of  this  weakness 
one  sees  every  moment  the  proof  that  behind 
this  weak  kindliness  there  is  a  high  inteUi- 
gence  and  a  lofty  spirit.  This  weakly  good- 
ness has  its  source  in  the  genuine  affection 
he  has  for  all  those  who  surround  him  and 
are  or  have  been  of  service  to  him.  Never 
does  a  wounding  or  a  contrary  word,  nor 
one  in  the  least  degree  in  the  world  disagree- 
able, fall  from  his  lips  ;  and  if  the  force  of 
circumstances  constrains  him  to  commit  the 
most  trifling  action  which  might  displease 
232 


CC)LNT1'>S    1)K    MoMlJt 


To  lace  p.  JJi. 


Another  Portrait 

the  very  least  of  those  about  him,  he  commits 
it  only  as  a  last  extremity,  with  regret  and 
the  greatest  circumspection ;  so  he  often 
finds  the  means  to  accompany  it  by  some 
agreeable  action.  He  acts  thus  not  by  cal- 
culation, as  those  might  suppose  who  judge 
without  practical  experience,  but  out  of 
sheer  good-heartedness  ;  his  heart  is  tender 
to  weakness,  and  that  in  entire  simplicity. 
There  is  no  affectation  in  his  private  life, 
nothing  of  calculation.  In  his  conversation 
his  face  frankly  expresses  what  his  words 
say.  He  talks  simply,  and  affirms,  interro- 
gates, doubts,  denies,  contradicts,  and 
approves  as  much  by  the  expression  of  his 
features  as  by  his  words  ;  and  all  this  is 
always  accompanied  by  a  benevolent,  simple, 
and  sincere  expression  of  countenance.  Very 
often,  however,  he  is  more  self-contained 
than  at  other  times  ;  he  has  then  a  rather 
melancholy  or  rather  a  preoccupied  air.  At 
such  times  he  hardly  speaks  ;  he  does  not 
seem  to  notice  what  is  going  on  around  him. 
People  are  used  to  this  and  no  notice  is  taken 

233 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

of  it  in  the  general  conversation  or 
behaviour.  But  what  plainly  shows  that  his 
kindness  proceeds  from  a  tender  heart  is 
his  obvious  relations  with  the  Empress  and 
the  Prince  Imperial.  It  is  in  watching  them 
and  in  speaking  to  them  that  his  eyes  tell  his 
goodness  and  tenderness  and  also  his  weak- 
ness.  .    .  . 


234 


lie  I'KiNcii  n;ri.iJAi 


XLVI 

24  September,  1863 

The  day  before  yesterday  I  was  for  the  first 
time  present  during  a  political  conversation. 
It  was  in  relation  to  the  affairs  of  Poland  ; 
a  burning  question,  which  at  the  moment  is 
extremely  critical,  and  occupying  the  minds 
of  all.  Each  speaker  displayed  his  character 
and  way  of  thought  in  the  most  curious  and 
interesting  manner ;  one  discussing  the 
question  seriously,  and  expressing  his  ideas 
with  deliberation  and  not  without  passion  ; 
another  mingling  serious  reflections  with 
witty  and  bantering  sallies  ;  a  third  speak- 
ing so  violently  and  congesting  his  brain 
to  such  an  extent  that  he  could  hardly 
express  himself.  It  was,  I  can  assure  you, 
very  curious  and  interesting,  both  in  matter 
and  in  manner,  and  also  for  the  variety  of 
opinions  expressed.     What  struck  me  most 

23s 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

was  the  fact  that  he  who  most  warmly  took 
the  part  of  the  Poles  and  wished  us  to  fling 
ourselves  into  a  war  with  Russia  was  also 
precisely  the  one  who  demanded  that  the 
Pope  should  be  removed  from  Rome  and 
established  in  Constantinople  ...  he  who 
most  warmly  took  the  part  of  Russia  and 
wanted  to  see  the  Poles  exterminated  was 
precisely  he  who  most  emphatically  de- 
manded the  absolute  maintenance  of  the 
Holy  Father  in  his  Italian  possessions.  On 
the  whole,  the  dominant  opinion  was  that 
the  horrible  massacres  of  the  Polish  people 
must  be  stopped ;  but  that  we  could  not 
seriously  throw  ourselves  into  the  business 
without  being  strongly  supported  by  suffi- 
cient alliances.  During  the  whole  of  this 
conversation  the  Empress  said  not  a  word  ; 
contrary  to  her  usual  custom,  she  listened 
without  speaking,  drawing  her  needle  very 
steadily  through  her  tapestry ;  and  when 
she  was  asked  to  give  her  opinion  she 
replied  :  "I  talk  a  great  deal  about  past 
events,  but  never  of  contemporary  matters  "  ; 
236 


Playing  the  Doctor 

and  she  was  as  good  as  her  word.  The 
Emperor  was  absent. 

Would  you  like  a  specimen  of  the  manner 
in  which  I  play  the  doctor  here?  The 
Empress  thought  fit  the  other  day  to  give 
her  feet  a  really  thorough  soaking.  She 
lunched  without  changing  her  shoes,  and 
after  lunch  she  did  not  want  to  disturb  her 
people,  who  were  at  their  meal.  She  there- 
fore kept  her  wet  shoes  on  and  caught  a 
superb  cold,  which  started  in  the  nose  and 
travelled  down  to  the  throat,  and  finally  to 
the  bronchial  tubes.  I  managed  with  some 
difficuhy  to  get  her  to  give  up  her  sea- 
bathing ;  but  there  was  some  talk  of  a  boat- 
ing trip  up  the  Nive.  The  river  had  to 
be  reached  in  an  open  carriage,  and  the 
party  were  to  spend  two  good  hours  on  the 
water,  and  in  the  evening  to  return  in  an 
open  carriage  from  Bayonne  to  Biarritz  ; 
after  sunset,  which  was  hardly  prudent.  All 
begged  Her  Majesty  to  postpone  the  trip  ; 
but  in  vain. 

I    begged   and    prayed   her,   but   also   in 

237 


Empress   Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

vain  ;  she  would  keep  to  the  promise  she 
had  made  to  the  Princess  Anna.  Then  I 
went  up  to  her,  and  looking  at  her  with  my 
best  mocking  look,  with  which  she  is 
familiar,  I  told  her  :  "I  don't  approve  of 
this  trip ;  I  forbid  it."  She  lepaid  me  my 
scornful  expression,  and  accompanied  it  with 
a  gesture  that  little  gutter-boys  are  familiar 
with,  and  did  not  give  way.  Thereupon  we 
lunched.  After  lunch  fresh  entreaties, 
remonstrances  on  the  part  of  all,  and  fresh 
resistance.  Then  I  resumed  my  mocking 
look  and  cried  :  "  Let  us  all  cast  ourselves 
at  Her  Majesty's  sacred  feet  I  "  And  I  was 
the  first  to  suit  the  action  to  the  word,  pulling 
a  comical  face  as  I  did  so.  She  began  to 
laugh,  but  defied  us  all,  particularly  me, 
whom  she  raised  from  the  ground,  adminis- 
tering a  dainty  little  smack.  And  that  is 
how  I  play  the  doctor  in  this  somewhat 
eccentric  world. 

I  had  a  soothing  draught  made  up  which 
I  took  to  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  would 
be  in  the  Empress's  boat,  begging  him'  to 
238 


1 
1 

[ 

\^,^ 

H.^ 

'1it^^       ^ 

THK    KMI'KKSS    KlliKNIK. 
Fniii  a  fliotoiiiafli  token  about  isr.^ 


A  Wilful  Patient 

get  her  to  take  it  during  the  trip.  (I  expect 
it  was  simply  thrown  in  the  river.)  I  was 
in  the  third  boat,  well  behind  that  in  which 
was  the  Empress,  and  when  it  seemed  to 
me  that  the  trip  had  lasted  long  enough  I 
hailed  the  boat  in  front  of  mine  and  asked 
that  the  Empress  should  be  told  that  I  asked 
that  the  party  should  return  to  Biarritz.  The 
reply  was  something  which  was  equivalent 
to  an  emphatic  zut!  However,  a  few 
minutes  later  they  turned  round,  and  we 
returned  before  dinner-time.  And  that  is 
how  my  orders  get  obeyed.  It  is  true  that 
the  Emperor  is  away ;  but  if  he  had  been 
there?  It  is  probable  that  things  would 
have  been  the  same. 


239 


XLVII 

29  September,  1863 

I  AM  writing  this  letter  shortly  after  their 
Majesties,  accompanied  by  an  architect,  have 
selected  the  site  of  a  chapel  which  is  to  be 
built  in  pursuance  of  a  vow  made  by  the 
Empress  on  I  don't  know  what  occasion. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  remark  the  number 
of  foundations  of  this  sort  for  which  their 
Majesties  are  responsible.  In  this  district 
alone  I  know  of  two  in  Biarritz,  one  at  Sol- 
ferino,  one  at  Behobie,  and  one  near  Saint- 
Sauveur  in  the  Pyrenees.  I  heard  of  the  last 
from  the  Emperor  at  the  time  of  his  return 
from  the  little  trip  which  he  has  just  made. 
He  looked  so  pleased  when  he  spoke  of  the 
happy  results  of  the  trip  that  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  hear  him.  It  is  curious  to  see 
how  strongly  this  man  has  the  instinct  of 
240 


THK    EMPEROK   AND   THE    I'RINCK    IMl'KKIAL. 


The  Emperor's  Benevolence 

practical  well-doing  and  the  satisfaction  he 
feels  in  doing  good  incessantly  and  wherever 
he  goes.  I  have  often  heard  it  said  that  he 
acts  thus  out  of  policy ;  that  it  is  in  his 
interest  to  do  so;  that  his  object  is  to  win 
the  affection  of  the  people.  .  .  .  If  it  were 
so  I  should  not  see  any  great  harm  in  it.  It 
is  in  the  interest  of  all  sovereigns  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  their  subjects.  If  he  has 
realised  that,  he  has  thereby  a  great  advan- 
tage over  those  sovereigns  who  have  slum- 
bered in  the  royal  or  Imperial  purple  without 
troubling  about  the  needs  of  their  people. 
And  after  all  the  good  is  done  and  remains. 
But  I  deny  that  personal  interest  is  the  only 
or  even  the  chief  object  of  the  Emperor  in 
all  the  good  he  performs.  I  believe  it  is 
a  characteristic  which  we  should  love  and 
admire  as  we  admire  the  genius  of  great 
men  or  the  beauty  of  women.  It  is  apparent 
in  every  word  the  Emperor  speaks,  and  I 
had  fresh  proof  of  it  in  the  conversation  of 
which  I  spoke  just  now.  After  the  account 
of  the  trip  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
Q  241 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

best  manner  of  doing  good ;  the  Emperor 
detailed  his  methods  and  line  of  conduct. 

The  Empress  was  making  comments  and 
objections,  and  stating  which  means  she 
thought  the  best,  and  everybody  put  in  a 
word.  The  Emperor  spoke  rather  oftener 
than  the  others,  but  without  boasting  ;  with 
such  simplicity  and  absence  of  rehearsal  that 
it  was  impossible  to  see  anything  more  than 
the  love  of  public  welfare  for  the  sake  of 
the  public.  And  in  all  this  he  did  not  even 
seem  to  imagine  that  he  was  fulfilling  a 
duty ;  he  was  simply  following  his  inclina- 
tion. 

The  more  I  see  this  man  the  more  closely 
I  study  him  and  the  more  attached  I  grow. 
I  have  looked  for  his  worse  side  in  every- 
day life  and  I  have  not  found  it.  I  could 
not  perhaps  say  as  much  of  the  Empress*  I 
have  often  praised  her  to  you  and  told  you 
how  highly  I  think  of  her ;  but  I  know 
where  she  is  lacking.  With  the  Emperor  the 
evil,  if  there  is  any,  is  so  hidden  that  I,  cannot 
point  to  it ;  his  only  fault,  if  it  is  one,  is 
242 


A  Good  Man 

that  his  kindness  errs  to  the  verge  of  weak- 
ness. Of  course  it  is  of  the  private  man 
I  speak.  So  many  passions  surround  him, 
and  I  am  such  a  stranger  to  politics,  that  I 
cannot  judge  him  from  another  point  of 
view  ;  he  will  be  approved  by  some,  blamed 
by  others,  and  detested  by  many  for  his 
political  actions.  I  leave  this  province  alone, 
as  I  know  nothing  about  it.  As  a  private 
individual,  as  a  man  in  his  own  home,  he 
reveals  many  weaknesses,  some  errors 
founded  on  ignorance  of  certain  things,  and 
a  few  prejudices  ;  this  is  the  result  of  his 
humanity  and  his  natural  imperfection  ;  it 
could  not  be  otherwise,  for  no  one  is  perfect. 
But  this  does  not  in  the  least  affect  what 
I  have  said  elsewhere.  He  may  make  mis- 
takes, but  there  is  no  evil  in  him. 

(There  are  no  letters  for  the  year    1864, 
the  doctor's  family  being  at  Biarritz.) 


243 


XLVIII 

II  September,  1865 

We  are  in  a  great  state  of  excitement.  We 
are  about  to  receive  a  visit  from  the  Queen 
of  Spain,  her  husband,  her  son,  the  Prince 
of  the  Asturias,  whose  father  .  .  .  but  away 
with  gossip  !  We  are  going  to  wear  uniform. 
Dinner  of  thirty-six  covers  in  a  dining-room 
too  small  for  them.  Fireworks  on  the  beach, 
with  a  possibility  of  setting  fire  to  the 
bathing  establishment.  Very  interesting 
conversation  between  Spaniards  who  don't 
know  a  word  of  French  and  Frenchmen  who 
don't  speak  a  word  of  Spanish.  In  short, 
it  will  be  delightful.  My  dear  wife,  you 
sometimes  complain  of  the  bother  caused 
you  by  the  arrival  of  a  few  occasional  guests . 
But  if  you  saw  the  business  it  entails  here 
you  would  be  amazed.  It  is  a  regular 
244 


;'t,-^^'>.it^--  *-  •■.^'!«4r 


ISAUKLLA    II.,    ^HKKN    IH-    Sl'AlN. 


T..  face  |>.  J+«. 


Preparations 

cabinet  council  that  has  to  be  assembled 
in  order  to  settle  all  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions for  such  a  reception,  of  which  all  the 
details  have  to  be  foreseen,  discussed,  and 
arranged ;  aides-de-camp,  chamberlains, 
squires,  prefect  of  the  palace,  marechal  des 
logls,  all  have  a  mass  of  details  to  look 
after,  while  remembering  contradictory 
orders  which  are  given  in  one  sense  in  the 
morning  and  another  at  night,  so  that  I  don't 
know  how  they  manage  to  obey  them  all. 
Well,  my  next  letter  will  tell  you  how  they 
managed . 


245 


XLIX 

12  September,  1865 

Well,  the  first  act  of  the  royal  reception  has 
been  played.  I  have  seen  the  Queen  of 
Spain  ;  she  is  not  pretty  ;  she  is  even  ugly  ; 
and  yet  I  thought  her  even  uglier  than  she  is. 
As  for  seeing  the  Bourbon  in  her  face  or 
figure,  you  can't  ;  either  she  does  not  belong 
to  that  handsome  family  or  the  race  has 
greatly  changed  during  its  sojourn  in  Spain. 
She  is  enormous  ;  enceinte,  very  full  in  the 
girdle  ;  the  seventh  month,  they  say.  The 
nose  turns  up,  the  eyes  are  small,  the  lips 
thick  and  sickly,  yet  with  all  that  there  is 
something  agreeable  in  her  smile.  As  for 
the  King  of  Spain,  what  can  one  say  of  him, 
except  in  commiseration?  He  is  small, 
stunted,  skinny,  his  voice  thin  and  artificial ; 
he  goes  for  nothing  in  his  kingdom,  has  no 
246 


MARSHAL  O'DONNELI.,  DUKK  OF  TKTrAN. 


The  Queen  of  Spain 

employment,  no  authority,  does  nothing. 
...  I  will  spare  you  all  the  tittle-tattle  I 
have  heard.   .   .    . 

For  the  rest,  the  reception  was  well 
managed  and  even  magnificent. 

Among  the  great  personages  whom  I  was 
interested  to  see  was  the  Marshal  O'Donnell, 
Duke  of  Tetuan,  who  looks  rather  less  of  a 
Spaniard  than  I  do.  He  is  a  tall  man  with 
fair  hair,  whitened  by  age,  with  blue  eyes, 
and  a  good-natured,  smiling,  agreeable 
face,  with  no  apparent  malice  in  it.  All 
the  rest  had  markedly  Spanish  features, 
excepting  perhaps  one  of  the  Ministers, 
Sefior  Calderon,  short,  dried-up,  and  thin, 
with  an  expression  sparkling  with  wit ; 
the  nose  almost  straight,  the  chin  pro- 
minent, the  forehead  well  shaped ;  a  type 
of  face  almost  English  and  an  expres- 
sion entirely  French.  They  all  went 
for  a  nice  excursion  to  Bayonne  ;  cannon 
were  fired  ;  they  returned  here  to  pass  an 
hour  in  dressing,  and  at  eight  the  dinner 
commenced.     It  was  very  fine,  very  interest- 

24Z 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

ing,  and  a  splendid  sight.  The  table  was 
excellently  set  out ;  the  mixture  of  flowers 
and  ornaments  and  rich  toilets  was  very- 
striking  ;  a  good  band  from  time  to  time 
played  airs  from  Rossini's  "  Roland  at 
Roncesvalles  " — altogether  a  very  good  feed  ; 
indeed,  it  was  all  worth  seeing,  hearing,  and 
eating.  After  dinner  a  fine  display  of  fire- 
works ;  a  set -piece  fresh  from  Paris  with  its 
author,  Ruggieri.  No  conflagration  resulted, 
no  bombs  fell  on  anybody's  head,  and  at 
last  the  departure  took  place  by  the  light 
of  torches  and  Bengal  fires .  Their  Majesties 
of  Spain  were  reconducted  as  far  as  the 
Negress  railway  station ;  and  the  comedy 
being  over   we  returned  and  went  to  bed. 


248 


I  October,  1865 

I  HAVE  at  last  discovered  that  the  villa  is 
situated  as  regards  the  points  of  the  compass 
almost  exactly  like  our  pavilion  at  Issy.  The 
sun  sets  a  little  to  the  left ;  the  Great  Bear 
shows  in  front  a  little  to  the  right ;  the  polar 
star,  too,  is  above  and  a  little  to  the  right  ; 
and  in  thinking  of  this  common  position 
I  fall  a-dreaming,  and  borne  by  Pegasus, 
or  the  Great  Bear,  or  imagination,  I  think 
for  a  moment  that  I  am  at  Issy,  and  I 
dream  of  all  my  dear  ones  so  long  and  so 
plainly  that  I  sometimes  fancy  I  am  close 
to  you  and  shall  see  you  on  entering  the 
salon.  Once  especially  the  illusion  was 
complete.  While  I  was  conversing  with 
myself  the  sound  of  a  piano  fell  upon  my 
ear  and   I   seemed  to   recognise  Christine's 

249 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

touch .  Full  of  this  dream,  I  entered  and  saw 
Mme.  de  la  B^doy^re  playing  for  herself 
and  a  few  others .  She  has  really  something 
of  Christine's  touch,  a  little  spoiled,  how- 
ever, by  a  trace  of  hardness.  I  sat  close 
to  the  piano  ;  it  was  the  only  time  since  I 
left  Issy  that  my  ears  have  helped  my  other 
senses  to  delight  me. 

This  evening  I  was  struck  by  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  furniture  and  the  people 
in  the  room ;  there  was  something  that 
recalled  the  charming  engraving  repre- 
senting the  salon  of  the  Prince  de  Conti. 
The  large  salon  of  the  villa  has  been  trans- 
formed. Instead  of  the  perse  that  eight 
years  of  use  had  faded  they  have  hung  old 
tapestries  representing  the  story  of  Don 
Quixote ;  the  furniture  is  covered  with  a 
pretty  old  tapestry  which  must  be  Beauvais. 
In  the  centre,  about  a  round  table,  were  the 
Empress,  her  ladies,  and  some  gentlemen  ; 
the  ladies  working,  the  gentlemen  all  play- 
ing at  various  games  and  chatting  at  the 
same  time ;  at  the  end,  at  a  big  square 
250 


A  Charming  Picture 

table,  the  Emperor  was  showing  several 
persons  his  maps  of  France  for  the  history 
of  Caesar  ;  in  a  corner  Mme.  de  la  B^doy^re, 
surrounded  by  a  few  gentlemen,  was  making 
music  ;  at  the  other  end  of  the  salon  some 
were  taking  refreshments,  while  others  were 
reading  the  papers.  There  was  a  busy  and 
varied  peace  ;  things  and  people  were  well 
placed ;  each  had  a  natural  and  individual 
pose,  and  all  was  arranged  so  well  that  I 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  be  looking  at  some 
charming  picture,  which  I  much  regretted 
could  not  be  painted. 


25 


LI 

9  October,  1865 

Among  the  distinguished  foreigners  whom 
we  have  here  is  M.  Bismarck.  He  came  to 
the  villa  yesterday  and  chatted  a  long 
while  with  the  Emperor.  .  .  .  M.  Merimee 
began  to  make  remarks  concerning  this  con- 
versation, and  turning  to  Mme.  de  la 
B^doyere,  who  has  lived  in  Prussia,  began 
to  say  that  M .  Bismarck  watched  her  a  great 
deal,  that  he  always  has  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
her,  that  this  must  certainly  interfere  in  his 
conversation  with  the  Emperor,  and  other 
nonsense  of  the  same  stamp.  Then  he  went 
to  his  room  and  drew  M.  Bismarck's  por- 
trait on  a  sheet  of  cardboard.  .  .  .  He  has 
a  certain  talent  for  painting  and  seizes  a 
likeness  excellently.  This  portrait,  which 
was  life-size,  was  polished  off  in  a  couple 
of  hours  ;  it  was  really  a  remarkable  like- 
ness ;  the  illusion  was  extraordinary.  This 
252 


I'KINCL    IIIS.VIAKCK. 
By  Franz  von  I.aibach. 


A  Practical  Joke 

done,  he  went  into  Mme.  de  la  Bedoyere's 
room,  placed  the  portrait  in  her  bed,  the 
head  lying  on  the  pillow,  and  set  an  open 
book  beside  it,  as  though  the  owner  of  the 
head  were  reading.  Then  he  went  down 
to  dinner.  He  warned  the  Emperor,  and 
during  the  evening  the  conversation  was 
brought  round  to  M.  Bismarck.  "  Ah,"  said 
the  Emperor,  "  it  is  incredible  what  attention 
he  pays  you,  Mme.  de  la  Bedoyere ;  we 
have  had  a  mixed  conversation,  politics  com- 
bined with  remarks  concerning  you ;  you 
have  certainly  made  a  conquest  of  him." 
"  He  is,"  added  M.  Merimee,  "  a  man  you 
ought  to  beware  of,  and  not  to  trust ;  he 
speaks  little,  but  he  has  the  reputation  of 
being  a  most  audacious  maji." 

The  conversation  continued  in  this  strain 
for  some  time  ;  then  came  bedtime,  and 
all  retired.  Mme.  de  la  Bedoyere's  room 
opens  into  a  long  corridor  which  is  open 
at  either  end.  Their  Majesties,  after  saying 
good-night,  crept  along  a  side  corridor  to 
the  end  of  this  ;    we  were  coming  along  at 

253 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

the  other  end,  letting  Mme.  de  la  Bedoyere 
pass  us ;  she  entered  her  room  bravely 
enough,  but  very  soon  came  rushing  out 
again,  and  ran  into  Mme.  de  Lourmel's 
room  crying  :  "  My  dear,  there  is  a  man 
in  my  bed  !  "  The  latter  lady  went  forward, 
and  burst  out  laughing,  and  we  all  turned 
up  to  contemplate  the  audacious  M.  de  B. 
in  the  young  lady's  bed— she  laughing  as 
heartily  as  we.  The  complement  of  the 
affair  is  this  :  we  learned  that  during  dinner 
the  chambermaid,  going  into  her  mistress's 
room,  and  seeing  this  head,  which  she  did 
not  recognise,  ran  away,  in  confusion,  and 
went  in  search  of  another  maid,  to  whom 
she  said  :  "  Mon  Dieu  !  I  don't  know  what 
is  up,  but  there's  a  man  in  Madame's  bed, 
but  it  isn't  M.  de  la  Bedoyere."  There  was 
a  pretty  to-do,  as  you  can  imagine  ;  it  set 
us  all  off  laughing  again.    .    .    . 

You  will  be  no  more  disposed  than  I  to 
believe  that  Mme .  de  la  Bedoyere  was  really 
deceived  by  this   pleasantry,   nor  the  maid 
either ;    nor  the  chucklers  below  stairs . 
254 


)H.    MAKTHKZ. 


LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  DR.  BARTHEZ  TO 
HIS  DAUGHTER  ON  THE  NEWS  OF  THE 
DEATH   OF    THE   PRINCE   IMPERIAL 

Monday 

Thanks  for  your  kind  letter,  my  dear,  dear 
daughter.  Yes,  indeed,  I  am  terribly  upset ; 
I  can  hardly  realise  this  new  sorrow,  this 
dreadful  misfortune.  I  see  always  in  my 
mind's  eye  that  poor  young  body,  of  which 
I  took  such  thought  and  care,  and  I  see  it 
pierced  with  seventeen  assegai-stabs,  with  one 
of  the  eyes  battered  in,  stripped  of  all  but 
his  cross  and  medal,  which  were  hung  round 
his  neck.  This  picture  will  not  leave  me, 
and  it  rends  my  heart.  And  then  I  think 
of  his  mother,  who,  in  spite  of  a  few  failings, 
was  always  actuated  by  such  good  intentions, 
and  guided  by  so  fine  an  intelligence  ;  so 
happy  formerly,  and  to-day  husbandless  and 

255 


Empress  Eugenie  and  her  Circle 

childless.  You  of  all  people  can  understand 
the  sufferings  of  this  mother,  and  her  in- 
creasing desolation  and  solitude. 

And  then  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  my 
country.  I  know  that  the  ways  of  God  are 
hidden  from  our  eyes,  and  that  in  His 
sovereign  wisdom  He  chooses  the  best  means 
to  lead  us  to  Him  and  to  save  our  unhappy 
France.  But  I  knew  the  serious  qualities 
of  my  young  Prince,  and  his  Christian  mind 
and  training,  and  I  hoped  he  would  be  the 
instrument  of  the  salvation  of  France.  God 
has  willed  otherwise. 

I  am  deeply  grieved,  my  dear  child,  and 
I  thank  you  tenderly  for  so  fully  understand- 
ing and  sharing  my  sorrow. 

I  kiss  you  {Je  Vemhrasse). 

E.   Barthez. 


256 


INDEX 


Adour,  the,  river,  72-3  ;  bar 
of,  74  ;  high  seas  on  bar,  76  ; 
excursion  on,  76 ;  excursion 
to,  168  ;  trouble  in  landing  in, 
218 

Aigle,  the  Imperial  yacht,  211 

Albe,  Due  d',  147 

Albe,  Duchesse  d',  147,  159 

Alexander,  Emperor,  38 

Andral,  Dr.,  223 

Anna,  Princess  Murat,  238 

Asturias,  Prince  of  the,  244 

Barthez,  Dr.,  appointed  physi- 
cian-in-ordinary to  the  Prince 
Imperial,  11-13  ;  presented 
to  their  Majesties,  14-15  ;  re- 
quired to  leave  hospital  in 
case  of  epidemic,  42-3  ;  sent 
for  to  attend  the  Prince  at 
Biarritz,  44;  his  life  at  Biarritz, 
62-7 ;  a  curious  adventure, 
86-7  ;  his  position  at  Biarritz, 
96-7  ;  136-7 ;  his  opinion  of 
Home,  139-42;  his  position 
improves,  153-4  >  attends 
Home,  165-6;  di£&culties  of 


his  position,  221-2  ;  letter  on 
the  death  of  the  Prince,  255 
Bassano,  Duchesse  de,  46 
Bayonne,  54,  72, 121  ;  bull-fights 

at,  94,  132,  213 
Bedoyere,  Mme.  de  la,  49,  50, 
149,  150,  159,  250-2  ;  portrait 
of,  252-4 
Belgians,  King  of  the,  208-9 
Biarritz,  journey  to,  mooted,  12  ; 
journey   to,   47-9 ;  company 
in  train,  50  ;  Court  arrives  at, 
55  ;  scenery,  56  ;  the  chateau, 
62  ;    the  park,  63-5  ;    storm 
at,  123  ;  journey  to,  200 
Bidache,  excursion  to,  146 
Bizot,   Mme.,  under-governess, 

31 
Bordeaux,  52-3 
Boucan,  72,  74 
Bouls-rimcs,  169 
Briancon,  Mme.  de,  governess, 

17,  19,  23,  49,  50,  201,  217, 

218 
Bruat,  Admiral,  31 
Bruat,  Mme.,  governess  of  the 

royal  children,  31 


Index 


Bulls,  93  ;  docility  of,  with  oxen, 
94;  116 

Bull-fights,  the  Empress's  fond- 
ness of,  84-5 ;  93-4 ;  a  bur- 
lesque bull-fight,  95  ;  a  Lan- 
daise  bull-fight,  95  ;  the  Em- 
press's love  of,  explained, 
11S-16;  132-3 

Cadore,  Mme.  de,  217-19 
Cadore,  Marquis  de,  48,  50 
Calderon,  Senor,  207 
Cap  Breton,  harbour  projected 

at,  211 
Gestae,  Abbe,  77 
Chapels  erected  by  Emperor, 

240-1 
Coligny,  H.I. M.S.,  the,  192 
Conneau,  Dr.,  11-14,  24-5,  30, 

34,  39,  41,  45-6,  128-9,  223 
Corvisart,  Dr.,  11,  20,  21 
Crinoline,  the,  103-4 

Emperor,  the,  see  Napoleon 
III. 

Empress,  the,  see  Eugenie 

Epidemics,  nervousness  con- 
cerning, 42-3 

Eugenie,  Empress,  the,  11-15  ; 
appearance  of,  16 ;  deter- 
mination of,  21 ;  health  and 
temperament,  30  ;  dress,  34- 

36  ;  an  inexperienced  mother, 

37  ;  40,  41  ;  on  the  journey 
to  Biarritz,  30-2 ;  gracious- 
ness,  53,  66,  74 ;  incident  of 

258 


sick    child,    75-6 ;     love    of 
bull-fights,    84-5 ;     a     trick         ^ 
played  on  the  doctor,  87-8;         ■ 
love    of    dancing,    89 ;     im-         ^ 
pulsiveness,  99;  good  looks, 
99-100 ;      embarrasses     the  ^ 

doctor  with  her  charms,  loi ;  ■ 
dress,  102-3  ;  on  the  crinoline  f 
or  "  cage,"  103-4  >  ^^i^*'  ^°4» 
105 ;  in  society,  106 ;  in 
private  life,  107 ;  love  of  bull- 
fighting, 109 ;  occasional  in- 
justice of,  iio-ii;  fond  of 
boisterous  games,  1 12-13  ; 
effects  of  Spanish  training, 
1 14-16;  as  mother,  117-18;  no 
faith  in  doctors,  119;  125; 
childlike  character,  126 ; 
credulity,  127  ;  128-9  ;  131 ; 
less  attracted  by  bull-fights, 
132-3  ;  health  of,  135 ;  faith 
in  Home,  138-9 ;  180 ; 
amusing  telegraphic  corre- 
spondence with  Emperor, 
162-63 ;  refuses  to  believe 
Home  a  trickster,  167;  delight 
in  Spanish  songs  and  dances, 
180  ;  181-2  ;  a  scene  with  the 
Prince,  204-5  '>  unable  to 
land  on  return  from  excursion, 
216-19  ;  conversation,  225-7  ; 
236 ;  a  wilful  patient,  239 ; 
240-2 
Excursions,  on  the  Adour,  76, 
168,  218  ;  to  Bidache,  146  ;  to 
Grammont,  146-8 ;  to  Pas  de 


Index 


Roland,  173  ;  to  a  smugglers' 
cave,  175-82  ;  to  Fontarabia, 
182-3  ;to  San  Sebastien,  192- 
94  ;  to  Loyola,  196-8  ;  on  the 
Nive,  237-9 

Faisans,  Ile  des,  183 

Fave,  M.,  170,  227 

Floating  batteries,  38 

Floods,  38 

Fontarabia,  excursion  to,  183- 

8 ;  verses   upon   the  voyage 

to,  187-91 
Fould,  M.,  217 

Grammont,  excursion  to,  146-8 

Home,  the  famous  medium, 
137 ;  the  Empress's  faith  in, 
138  ;  appearance,  138-9 ;  a 
seance,  139-40;  Dr.  Bar- 
thez'  opinion  of,  142 ; 
detected  in  fraud,  164 ;  takes 
to  his  bed,  165  ;  supposed  to 
be  dying,  165 ;  Dr.  Barthez 
sent  for,  165-6,  169 

Ignatius    of    Loyola,  Saint, 

196  ;  seminary  of,  196-7 
lie,  M.  Morio  de  1',  see  Morio 

Juan,  Don,  147-8,  151 

Kronstadt,  38 


La  Grange,  M.  de,  44-5,  47, 

50,  131,  155-  228 
Landes,  the,  53 
Leon,  M.,  the  Emperor's  valet, 

223-4 
Lourmel,  General  de,  death  of, 

in  Crimea,  56 
Lourmel,  Mme.  de,  49,  50,  56, 

142,  254 
Loyola,  excursion  to,  192-6 

Merimee,  Prosper,  227,  229, 
252  ;  plays  a  practical  joke  on 
Mme.  de  la  Bedoyere,  252-4 

Metternich,  Princess,  220-1 

Michel,  M.,  the  "  King  of  Smug- 
glers," visited  by  the  Court, 
176-7 

Mocquard,  M.,  his  verses,  170- 
i  ;  217 

Monaco,  Prince  of,  209 

Monnier,  M.,  228 

Montebello,  Mme.  de,  145-8  ; 
portrait  of,  151-3,  155,  160-1, 
170 

Morio  de  I'lle,  M.,  detects 
Home  in  fraud,  164,  166 

Moscow,  Prince  of,  170 

Murat,  Prince,  170 

Murat,  Princess  (Anna),  170 

Napoleon  IIL,  12,  13  ;  his  care 
of  the  Prince's  health,  14;  a 
troublesome  patient,  30 ; 
credulity,  31,  39 ;  40 ;  appear- 
ance and  manners,  41,  47,  50  ; 


Index 


conversation  of,  51,  59,  66  ; 
68,  70,  71 ;  his  country  drives, 
72,  74,  76;  portrait  of,  78-82; 
occupations,  83,  84-5  ;  affec- 
tion for  Empress,  86-6 ; 
morality,  86;  considerateness, 
87-8 ;  a  jovial  dancer,  89  ; 
his  singing  and  reading,  89, 
90  ;  90-1  ;  habits  at  Biarritz, 
92  ;  expression  and  character, 
98 ;  103 ;  joins  in  games, 
113;  affection  for  Empress 
and  child,  117;  credulity, 
119  ;  charity,  121;  123-5;  127  ; 
lack  of  confidence  in  doctors, 
128;  129;  faith  in  Home's 
performances,  163,  168-9  >  ^^ 
composer,  170 ;  217-19,  221-2 ; 
227  ;  character,  231-4  ;  240  ; 
goodness  of  heart,  241-3, 
251-4 

O'DoNNELL,  Marshal,  247 
Oldenburg,  Prince,  209 

Panizzi,  227-29 

Pas  de    Roland,  excursion    to, 

173 
Pelican,  H.I.M.S.,  185-6  ;  verses 

upon  voyage  in,  186-92 
Poeze,  Mme.   de  la,    145,  147, 

156-7  ;  portrait  of,  157-8 
Poeze,  M.  de  la,  175 
Prince    Imperial,    the,    11-14; 

health   and   appearance,  17- 

18;     habits    and    diet,    19; 
260 


appearance,  20 ;  flattery  of, 
23-4  ;  childish  ailments,  26  ; 
diet,  26-7;  toilet  of,  29 ;  sweet 
temper,  31  ;  foolish  treat- 
ment of,  32-3  ;  toilet  of,  34- 
6 ;  health  of,  40,  1 17-18  ;  in- 
disposed, 128-30 ;  health, 
135,  198-9  ;  over-excited  by 
premature  social  functions, 
199;  200-1  ;  early  jealousy, 
204-8  ;  generosity,  205-8  ; 
death  of,  255-6 
Pyrenees,  173-4;  excursion  to 
cave  in,  175-82 

Rayer,  Dr.,  23,  129,  130,  142, 

213 
Richemont,  M.  de,  48,  50 
Riencourt,  M.  de,  175,  205 
Rolin,  General,  45,  86,  203-7, 
Rome,  King  of,  13 

Saint-Cloud,  14  ;  park  of,  18  ; 

an  early  visit,  45 
St.  Jean  de  Luz,  excursion  to, 

203 
San  Sebastien,  96 ;  excursion  to, 

192-4 
Sclafani,  Countess,  197 
Shaw,  Miss,  the  Prince's  nurse, 

17,  19  ;  determined  character 

of,  28-9,  34-6 ;  118,  130,  200- 

201  ;   mania  for  fried  pork, 

202  ;  203 
Smugglers'  cave,  178-80 
Smuggling,  176-7 


Index 


Spain,  King  of,  244-8 
Spain,  Queen  of,  244-8 
Spiritualism,  141-2 

Tascher     de     la     Pagerie, 

COMTE,   47,   50,   218 

Teeth,  the  Emperor  on,  69-70 
Tetuan,  Duke  of,  sec  O'Donnell 
Toilet,  the  Imperial,  29-34 
Train,  the  Imperial,  46-9 
Tuileries,  the,  14 


Valeski,  M.  axd  Mme.,  145, 159 
Valet,  difficulties  respecting  a, 

44-6 
Villa  Eugenie,  the,  57-61  ;  balls 

at,  68-9,  249-50 

Walesk.\,  %ce  Valeski 
Wet-nurse,  the,  19,  22,  26,  33, 
36,  130 

ZuMAYA,  excursion  to,  194 


261 


Ube  (Sresbam  press, 

UNWIN  BROTHERS,  LIMITED, 
WOKING  AND  LONDON. 


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